This is just another example of what is wrong with ‘UK Plc’. We have been brainwashed by the mantra of ‘Private Ownership good’ Public Ownership bad’ and persuaded that private corporations produce slick efficient results. Time and again this is not the case. The railways, the post office, etc, are increasingly inefficient and more and more costly, as staff numbers and proper training are cut to maximise profit. The buck passing of management directly parallels that after a rail incident, with the various disparate entities trying to blame each other, while letting the passengers and the staff at the sharp end suffer
Another succint summary. I've nothing against private enterprise and feel that well-performing managers (and staff) providing value-for-money services should receive reasonable bonuses. There are some entities that cannot exist in the private sector - BP's Lord Browne said something similar - such as utilities (gas, electricity etc) rail and transport infrastructure.
The Post Office is a good example: how many of you have used post offices in Germany, the Netherlands, Scandinavia or Finland? Nice clean areas, not the poky dirty offices to which we have become accustomed in the UK.