We need investors! This is 100% wrong, in fact investors need us. They need somewhere to invest or their money will depreciate. We own the market, so who’s in charge, the gambler, or the casino?
We need investors! “The party has promised that each £1 of public money will be backed up by £3 of private sector investment.”
Flashbacks to Labour’s disastrous PFI policy spring to mind. £300bn of your money spent on £55bn worth of capital investment. Do you really think this time will be any different?
We don’t have to overpay for capital, in fact the opposite is true. It’s private capital that needs to earn a return on investment. They need somewhere to invest. As the sixth largest economy on the planet, we are a very attractive market. And a safe bet. To quote a phrase, that means we hold all the cards. In the same way access to the NHS drug market means we can negotiate lower prices with the big pharmaceuticals so we can negotiate lower investment returns for access to our investment market.
If private capital doesn’t make a return at least as high as inflation each year it’s dying. It desperately needs places to invest.
We don’t need private capital; private capital needs us.
