Labour is obsessed with nationalisation – the problem is most of us are already shareholders

From the moment Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell took the reigns of the Labour Party in 2015 and jerked it leftwards, nationalisation has been touted as an ointment for all the nation’s ills.

Energy bills high? Nationalise the suppliers. Trains delayed again? Scrap the franchise model. 70p too dear for a First Class stamp? Take control of Royal Mail.

Labour has committed to bringing “rail, mail, water and energy” into public ownership, alongside parts of BT to deliver on the pledge of universal free broadband.

It’s hard to see this desire for the state to retake control of formerly nationalised industries as anything other than a nostalgia for mid-20th century socialism – perhaps unsurprising…