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Labour Corbyn applauds the rebirth of ‘municipal socialism’

JEREMY CORBYN will hail the rebirth of “municipal socialism” today, applauding Labour councils across the country that have brought back or kept public services in-house.

In a speech to Labour councillors in Nottingham, Mr Corbyn is expected to say that British society is being “dismantled” by privatisation of such services through the use of outsourcing companies and so-called austerity.

Privatisation has made vital public services a “cash cow” for the wealthy few, he will add, while the government has cut council funding by up to 50 per cent.

“This is why Labour councils are taking measures to bring services back in-house and reject costly PFI-style models,” he plans to say.

“With amazing creativity in the toughest of times, we are seeing the first shoots of the renaissance of local government for the many not the few, the rebirth of municipal socialism.

“Just look here in Nottingham, with Robin Hood Energy and inspiring Liverpool Leccy and Angelic Energy in my borough of Islington.

“In Newcastle where the Tyne & Wear Metro has been taken back in-house after forced contracting-out and the service is running better, meeting people’s needs.

“That’s the lesson too for councils like Cardiff and here in Nottingham which have hung on to municipal bus companies and regulated bus services.

“In Redbridge, waste services will come back in-house next year, as they have in many other council areas.”

He will refer to the “implosion” of the outsourcing and construction firm Carillion and the National Audit Office report into exorbitant PFI schemes as examples of how the “‘private good, public bad’ dogma has crumbled.”
 
He will also refer to the controversial public-private redevelopment proposals in Haringey, which have ground to a halt after Labour’s  national executive committee made an unprecedented intervention.

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