FT on private prisons

A rare balanced and informed article in the FT today on private prisons:

https://www.ft.com/content/3c356914-0d9c-11e8-839d-41ca06376bf2

It ends with a comment which for me, sums up exactly where we are, as incompetence on the part of operators and customers alike, plus of course Corbynism, seems to spell the end for outsourcing:

"we’ll spend the next 20 years relearning the downside of self-serving union-dominated public service monopolies.”

That isn't the whole story of course, for there are sectors, like the armed forces, where not even the fanatics of the Right think competition can be applied (although having said that, I fear Rees Mogg may at this very moment be planning a return to medieval mercenary armies). And one of the many delightful internal contradictions on this issue is that the further Right you are, the more wonderful you think those public service monopolies are.

And the fundamental issue is surely not public v private, but this - in cash strapped times (and everyone except John McDonnell knows  money is scarce and will remain so indefinitely), how do you run public services of consistent quality, how do you adjust the service to realistic levels given tight funding, how do you manage public expectations, what do you prioritise and what do you not prioritise, how do you give proper accountability  and transparency?  That it seems to me is the debate we are so determinedly not having, while the Tories deny that funding cuts have caused unacceptable service, and Labour maintain there is money enough to meet every demand.