JEREMY Corbyn will today unveil a new plan to give free broadband to everyone in Britain – costing taxpayers a whopping 60billion.
The Labour leader will pledge to roll out the new state-controlled service over the next 10 years in the biggest offer of his general election campaign yet.
The Labour leader pledged to roll out the new state-controlled service over the next 10 years
It is the latest in a series of major renationalisation projects and would require seizing the telecoms service and major infrastructure network currently provided by firms including BTs Openreach, Talk Talk, Virgin and Sky.
The cost of the move was last night estimated at an eye-watering 56billion, on top of almost 200billion of other nationalisation projects the left-wing leader has already pledged.
And Tories last night warned a state takeover of a high tech business like broadband would end in disaster.
Mr Corbyn hopes the plan will be the jewel in a series of retail offers to voters to buy their votes.
Dubbing it transformative, the Labour boss will unveil the new policy during a speech in Lancaster today alongside Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell.
‘UNNECESSARY AND HUGELY EXPENSIVE’
Sources at BT said the Labour leaders plan had stunned them.
The cost of buying Openreach and delivering superfast broadband to every home would be at least 56billion.
Last year when private equity funds were looking to buy Openreach from BT, the cost was put at 26billion.
Openreach said earlier this year that to get superfast broadband to 30million across the UK would cost 30billion after the Prime Minister pledged to get the fibre internet into every home by 2025.
The BT source said of Labour’s plan: We knew nothing about this. We dont know if they plan to nationalise Openreach or the whole BT network – it wouldnt be right to speculate.
Chiefs at BT are in regular dialogue with all the major parties – especially during election time – so this has blindsided us.
Tory former business and culture minister Ed Vaizey told The Sun: They tried nationalising broadband in Australia. It cost billions and failed.
This plan is unnecessary, hugely expensive and wont work. Not even 1970s Labour governments promised free telephones.
The cost of Labours plans to renationalise rail, energy, water and postal services would cost an estimated 196billion, according to Tory analysis.
