All private companies employing more than 250 people would have to set up “ownership funds” giving workers financial stakes in their companies and increasing powers to influence how they are run, under radical plans announced by Labour as it prepares for a possible general election within months.
The far-reaching proposals, which would empower millions of workers across the private sector, were unveiled by the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, in an interview with the Observer. McDonnell– who has been working throughout the summer on election planning, with little break– says the ideas will be at the heart of Labour’s drive to deliver greater equality by forcing an “irreversible shift in wealth and power in favour of working people”.
Right. So you set up your company. Spend years getting it up and running – long hours for little initial reward and sinking all of your capital into it – but you make it in the market. The business builds up and you start to employ others. Eventually, you have a decent sized business. And then the state forces you to hand over part of the ownership and not only that, have others tell you how to run it. Wow. Why would anyone slog their guts out building a business in such a hostile environment? And if anyone doubts that McDonnell is a communist, these proposals are all you need. What an evil little man he is.
They’re trying to recreate union power in all busineses. 250
is a start, it will ratchet down to below France’s 50.
Conservatives are almost as bad with their compulsory work place pensions.
It is a huge disincentive to grow beyond 249 employees. And if you currently have 255 employees, better to shrink a little and put 6 employees on the dole. If I had 480 employees, I’d sell half the company to MrsBud for $1.
Man did you get this wrong. It should read: “If Labour get in, all private companies employing more than 250 people will flee the country. The rest will try to flee, and those who can not will shut down.”
Ah, more equality of outcome bollocks from Labour. Don’t these people read political history? All such schemes have failed, big time. They fail because they assume there is an infinite number of ‘the rich’ to fund all their bright ideas, when actually the number of ‘rich’ is very small in comparison to the rest of the population. So these redistributionists will have to continually reclassify who is ‘rich’ until that status is reached by Church mice with a very heavy mortgage. But by that time you’re in Venezuela territory with a trashed economy and everyone but the party elites on a crash diet.
Remember the worker’s co operative at Meriden Triumph? That worked well, a slow but inevitable decline as the demand for museum pieces with an engine that was designed in 1937 gradually reduced to zero. The company was then rescued and totally revitalised by a really rich guy. Rich entirely due to his own efferts I might add.Don’t forget the economic miracles that were created by collective farming, as long as you overlook the mass starvation. I’m beginning to think that being a socialist is some kind of mental illness.
You are probably right, unfortunately it is a mental illness that is spreading among young people.
Yes I remember the Workers co-operative at Meriden. The thing that finally did for Triumph, apart from an extremely outmoded design and limited product range, was the strength of the U.S. economy which made Bonnevilles and the like very expensive in the U.S.A. As to socialism being a mental illness, I think it’s what is the precise definition of socialism that is important. China has lifted 500.000 people out of poverty in the last 30 years. Russia is forging ahead with large infrastructure projects to better the lives of it’s people. Any country that tries to enrichen all it’s citizens is sucessful. Sadly some of the western countries seem to be taking these to extremes via payments to immigrants verses their retired citizens pensions or the deliberate expansion of the divide between rich and poor.
Meriden co-operative era Bonnevilles were notorious for needing a complete strip down and loctite applying to each and every threaded part or they had a tendency to vibrate themselves to pieces. Often on the way back from the dealership.
@Stonyground
+1 on Triumph
New Triumph bought lots of their bike parts from Kawasaki – suspension, electrics, hydraulics – whilst they rebuilt brand, styling and engine tech. Italians saw their success and copied.
Socialism – a mental disease prominent in many with a mental age under 21.
Sensibalism – a mental ability to see shovelling money into a loss making business inc to “protect jobs” is delusional [me at <11]
And whence came the number 250?
Officially (World Bank, EU) companies with less than 250 employees are designated SMEs. 99,3% of companies in the UK are SMEs.
So Labour’s plans will affect mostly large public listed corporations, probably multinational. The options available to these to reduce headcount include: move part or whole out of the UK, automation, sending jobs abroad.
Socialists never learn that others may not share their enthusiasm for their grand plans, and that people are capable of independent action and can and may react contrary to the way expected or the way the planners believe they ‘should’ act.
Outcome not as expected. Oh, dear.
Which is why Socialsm inevitable must resort to coercion.
Of course, these laws will not apply on the Isle of Man, or Jersey etc.
Maybe this could move the irritating Mr Oliver from his health crusade to attacking Labour 😉