WHY PFI?

People are wondering why we have PFI when it is proving to be so costly. The reason goes back to the days when the EU was preparing to introduce its now failing euro and the joining nations would become responsible for each other’s debts. The German’s, whose economy and currency was strong, were worried that nations such as Greece would borrow and spend too much, so the Growth and Stability Pact was introduced. All EU nations, including the UK, were forced to comply even though we were not joining the euro.

This pact set, allegedly, strict limits on what all EU nations could borrow and spend which meant money the Government needed to borrow to be spent on hospitals and other projects, broke the limits set in the pact.

The only way around this was to introduce PFI which meant private companies, rather than the state, borrowed and spent to complete many projects, then the state, living within the limits of the pact, leased back the hospitals, schools and other PFI funded projects.

We now have a situation where the British taxpayer is paying a lot more than need be for these PFI projects to comply with the rules laid down to stop the Greeks and others from getting into the mess we now find them in. Another reason why we should quit the EU.