Business glossary


Railway track. Photograph: David Sillitoe/Guardian
Photograph: David Sillitoe

The process of moving state-owned assets into the private sector and one of the defining characteristics of the Thatcher era.

Back in 1979, the Conservative government began selling state assets to private hands, such as British Aerospace (now BAE Systems), British Airways, British Gas (now parts of Centrica and National Grid Transco) and British Telecom (now BT).

Some privatisations have been particularly troublesome, notably British Rail.

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