LONDON Reuters: Britain’s opposition Labor Party today unveiled an ambitious 10 year plan to roll back Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s denationalization program and reestablish state control over key industries.
Labors trade spokesman John Smith told a news conference that the program represented a reaffirmation of Labors historic commitment to social ownership of the means of production. “We now seek many different roads to social ownership with a new emphasis (on socialism from the bottom up rather than from the top down” Smith said.
Smith stressed Labors determination to regain state control of key public utilities such as the National Telephone Company British Telecom denationalized by Thatcher in 1984 and British gas due to be sold to the public Tater this year.
Labor would also set up a state owned medicine company and. nationalized bank to finance and stimulate new enterprises. British Telecom shares dropped two pence from 198 pence to 196 following publication of the report.
With a general election probably about a year away publication of the document marked an important stage in Labors mobilization for what is expected to be a bitterly fought campaign in which nationalization is certain to be a key issue.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 12, 1986
