No-one would dispute the responsibility of governments to provide defence capability and ensure that the country has the basic infrastructure in place to develop and prosper. However the question of privatisation, which involves selling off state assets to private companies over which the government has no control, is a highly controversial issue. In this essay I will argue that in my personal experience , privatisation has had a detrimental effect on the affordability and quality of services, and those who cannot afford to pay are as always the ones who suffer the most. Many people believe that if services such as transport and energy are privately owned, there is increased competition between providers, which leads to lower prices, better quality of service and the development of new services. However, if we take British Rail as an example, privatisation has resulted in cuts to local services, frequent delays and cancellations and astronomical price hikes. A similar eff...