IT would have been unthinkable only a few years ago for councils to sell off or release assets like houses and leisure centres to the private sector - and may still go against the grain where old Labour still rules the town halls.
But if local government can look back to the Thatcher era for the roots of this privatisation process, taxpayers can often look forward to an easing of their burden. Already planning the £74 million transfer of its entire housing stock to a publicly-owned company, Burnley Council tonight considers handing over its leisure centres to a charitable trust to save cash and attract new private investment.
No harm done, we think - if it is the council tax payer who gets a better deal.
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