How public ownership can address the challenges of our age
Published: 16 December 2019
*This event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic* Franziska Paul will speak at the upcoming STUC conference on public ownership in Glasgow, UK, on 12 May 2020.
Across Europe there has been a wave of re-municipalisation – local government taking back control of privatised services.
In Scotland, the Scottish Government has recently taken public stakes in the shipbuilding firm, Ferguson Marine, and the energy fabrication company, Bifab, although it refused to intervene to save the St Rollox Caley Railworks.
While public ownership has often been used to intervene to save jobs when the private sector fails, society faces many new challenges – not least climate change – which suggest the need to radically restructure our economy in a very short period of time.
In this context, what are the key priorities for public ownership in Scotland? How do we ensure public ownership isn’t simply a last-minute intervention in unprofitable companies but is part of a forward-looking strategy to address pressing challenges such as climate change, an aging population and digitalisation? What models should be pursued to ensure that public ownership interventions are democratically accountable and financially and environmentally sustainable?
First published: 16 December 2019