As the Government sets about implementing a programme of sell offs, new research shows George Osborne will raise more cash from the sale of public assets this year than from the last two decades of privatisations combined.
Tory plans to pass publicly owned services into the hands of private companies are likely to generate around £31.8 billion for the Chancellor in 2015/16 with parts of RBS, Royal Mail and Lloyds up for grabs.
Mr Osborne began his programme of sell-offs this week when he authorised the disposal of £2.1 billion of shares in RBS, representing a £1 billion loss to the taxpayer, seven years after the bank was rescued by a £45 billion Government bailout.
Shares in RBS are trading 33 per cent lower than when the Labour government initially purchased them. If the Government sells all it’s holding at this price it will end up losing around £15bn of public funds.
Back in 2013, Under the Coalition, 70 per cent of the public stake in Royal Mail was sold, and last month Mr Cameron announced half of the remaining shares had left public hands.
