§ 76. Mr. Michael Brownasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the progress of Her Majesty's Government's denationalisation programme since 1979.
§ Mr. Norman LamontThe programme of privatisation continues to be highly successful. Fourteen major companies, including British Gas and British Airways, and around 600,000 employees have been transferred to the private sector since 1979. The privatisation programme is a key element in our strategy for widening share ownership and as a result we have succeeded in roughly trebling the number of people holding shares since 1979. By transferring these companies to the private sector we have also increased their incentives to greater efficiency and competitiveness, thus benefiting their employees, their shareholders and the economy as a whole.