THE record of Westminster Governments since 1979 for selling off of state assets on the cheap is well documented. Last year Royal Mail was privatised on the cheap and the public left short-changed. Now the 40 per cent share in Eurostar is to be sold off by a Westminster government ideologically opposed to state ownership.

This sell-off reflects the short-term nature of UK economic policy. Clearly it shows the increasingly desperate attempts to balance the books with painful austerity rather than investment and growth have failed.

Now, in a desperate attempt to fill the hole in public finances, important assets are being sold off. This is a short-sighted attempt to make a fast buck at the expense of the future of the UK’s infrastructure and economic prospects. We may end up with “external nationalisation” where former UK state assets are owned by foreign governments who pursue their own interests, at our expense. A wider discussion on this proposal is needed with the devolved bodies in Wales and Scotland.

Jonathan T Clark, Plaid Cymru Parliamentary Candidate for Monmouth Constituency