Broadband is crucial 21st century public infrastructure, just like roads, the railway, water and energy networks. We developed water networks In the 19th century and the NHS in the 20th century, and quick access to the internet is something we all need today.
With the policy of nationalising broadband and providing every home and business in the country with free, full fibre connection, Labour isn’t just trying to win an election. They are shifting the debate. The party is showing that public ownership isn’t just about the old classics (rail, mail, water and so on). It’s about new stuff too.
The billionaire press has responded with cries of ‘broadband communism’ and ‘fantasy’ but the reality is, they’re freaked out. That’s because this policy is clearly about an agenda of the future, about the new public infrastructure that we need for the 21st century. And because they can’t escape the logic of public ownership, and the fact that broadband is indeed a public service.
