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If the party wins in December, Labour is targeting The Royal Mail, railways, water and energy utilities as part of its efforts to nationalise. But, many in those industries have reacted angrily to the prospect of forced nationalisation with some lawyers and shareholders arguing the move would be a “blatant breach of human rights”. They believe that the proposals could breach international treaties and Brussels rules over state aid, and the ensuing legal fight could take years to resolve.
Last week Labour made the shock announcement that they also intend nationalise Openreach, the network arm of BT.
The announcement was met similarly with scorn as Mr Corbyn made clear the party would be paying less than market value for the assets – leaving many to question what state this will leave pension funds and share prices.
Fears have also been stoked that Corbyn is readying Labour to stealth nationalise further industries as they plan on confiscating a 10pc stake of every firm with over 250 staff and put those shares in worker funds.
One major investor at BT told the telegraph that shareholders would be relentless in their pursuit of compensation should these proposals go ahead:
They said: “It is such a blatant breach of human rights and foreign direct investment treaties.
“Investors will not only win compensation, but exemplary damages and legal costs – so sums could be far bigger than just what the government underpays them.”
The radical proposals have not sat well with analysts and insiders with many warning this could lead to to a massive drop investment due to fears around property ownership.
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Mr Corbyn’s message has remained consistent however in its assistance that the practice will not damage business interests.
Ahead of his party’s manifesto release the Labour leader said: “We will bring some key services into public ownership. I make no apology for that.”
A spokesperson for Labour added: “The fact that wealthy vested interests think that protecting profits and dividends is a ‘human right’ is exactly why we need to bring vital areas of our economy into public ownership, so they can be run by and for the people.”
The warning from investors comes as an analysis from the Conservative Research Department found that savers in the South East will be the hardest hit by a Labour government with a loss of over £14,000 whilst those in the East Midlands face the longest delay to their retirement, having to work for another four years.
Nearly eight in ten of those saving for retirement would be hit with a double whammy with Labour’s plans to renationalise the assets they have invested in, a move the CBI said would mean “workers and older generations could end up poorer as a result”.
The bombshell findings show that the average cost to savers in England would be £11,167, meaning they would have to delay retirement by more than three-and-a-half years.
Those people living in the East Midlands would be hit by £6,150 and may need to delay retiring by more than four years.
A loss of £12,871 for people living in Greater London could mean a four-year delay in retirement to meet the cost while people in the North East face a walloping £9,758 hit and may be forced to put off giving up work for three years.
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