Cost of nationalisation

sir – John Mcdonnell, the shadow chancellor, has appeared twice on The Andrew Marr Show recently, as well as on the Today programme, and repeated his plans for nationalising utilities and railways.

The Conservative Party should, as a matter of urgency, appoint a small team to scrutinise every aspect of these plans, working out both the long- and short-term consequences. The crucial question is how Labour intends to fund these proposals. Mr Mcdonnell does not seem to realise that issuing government bonds is just another method of borrowing money.

The Tories should publish the findings and distribute them widely.

J S Mcintosh

Coventry, Warwickshire