Neoliberal Britain: How Thatcher’s Ghost Turned the NHS into a Cash Machine for Oligarchs

—A Middle Finger to Austerity, Privatisation, and the Myth of “Trickle-Down” Economics—

Apr 03, 2025

1. The Great Heist: Selling Off the Family Silver to Pay for Yacht Fuel

Let’s get one thing straight: neoliberalism isn’t an “economic theory”—it’s a pyramid scheme dressed in a pinstripe suit—Economic Fascism with an illusion of democracy attached. Since Thatcher declared war on the post-war consensus, the UK’s been strip-mined faster than a Cornish tin mine. £2 trillion—that’s how much public assets we’ve flogged since 1980, from railways to energy grids¹. And who won? Not your nan on a frozen pension. Serco, G4S, and Richard Branson are laughing all the way to their offshore tax havens. That's £2 Trillion stolen from UK citizens.

Fun fact: Thames Water, now a sewage-spewing corpse, paid £10.4 billion in dividends while racking up £19bn in debt² since privatisation. That’s not capitalism. It’s corporate cannibalism. It's Theft.

2. Austerity: Class War Disguised as Spreadsheet Math

Osborne’s 2010 “deficit crisis” was about as real as a £3 note. The Tories slashed £40bn from public services while handing corporations a £110bn tax cut³. Result?

- 120,000 excess deaths from 2012–2017, linked to cuts in health and social care⁴.

- 4.2 million kids in poverty—because apparently, hunger builds character⁵.

- Rent hikes outpacing wages 4:1 since 2010—forcing nurses to choose between heating and eating¹².

Translation: Austerity isn’t fiscal responsibility. It’s economic eugenics.

3. The NHS: From Bedpans to Bailouts for Billionaires

The NHS isn’t “struggling”—it’s being strangled. Private contractors now suck up 25% of NHS budgets, charging £300 for a blood test⁶. Meanwhile, STPs (Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships) are just Trojan horses for closing hospitals and selling land to Tory donors⁷.

Case in point: Circle Health’s 2012 takeover of Hinchingbrooke Hospital. They bailed after £4.9m losses, leaving taxpayers to clean up the mess. Sound familiar? It’s the same playbook as the 2008 bank bailouts: privatise profits, nationalise losses.

4. Zero-Hour Serfdom: Your Flexi-Job is a Scam

“Gig economy”? More like feudalism with a Deliveroo bag.

- 1.1 million UK workers on zero-hour contracts, denied sick pay while CEOs pocket bonuses⁸.

- Uber drivers earn £5/hr after costs—below minimum wage, but who cares? Shareholders need a third yacht⁹.

Bonus irony: The same politicians preaching “self-reliance” have 87% of their donations from landlords and financiers¹⁰. Eat the rich? They’re already eating *us*.

5. Housing Crisis: Buy-to-Let Vampires vs. Generation Rent

UK housing isn’t a market—it’s a Ponzi scheme for boomers. When does the inflation stop? 12 times to 20 times the average wage, like come on, what the actual fuck?

- 300,000 homes+ owned by offshore oligarchs sit empty while 271,000 Brits sleep rough¹¹.

- Rents have doubled in regions like here on the Nort hCoast: a that-bed that cost £400-450/month in 2015 now bleeds tenants dry at £800-900, with landlords demanding £1,250 for cheaply made and branded as “luxury flats”¹² with a sea view.

- The average renter spends 35% of their income on housing, up from 19% in 1980¹³.

Kick in the teeth: Right to Buy sold off 1.9 million council homes, with 40% now owned by landlords charging triple the original rent¹⁴. Thatcher’s legacy? A nation of serfs paying tribute to Baroness Brady’s property empire.

6. The Brexit Distraction: Blame Immigrants, Not the Bastards in Westminster

Brexit was neoliberalism’s greatest magic trick: steal their future, then sell them a Union Jack. We are swapping £360bn trade in the EU for more expensive US trade at £60bn worth—All while Trump treats us like his little bitch.

- £80bn wiped from the economy, but sure, let’s blame Polish nurses¹⁵.

- Trade deals with Australia and the US? Corporate handjobs allowing hormone-fed beef and privatised NHS carve-ups¹⁶.

Meanwhile: Rees-Mogg’s hedge fund made £7m shorting the pound during Brexit chaos¹⁷. Rule Britannia, my arse.

7. Resistance? Labour’s Too Busy Licking BlackRock’s Boots

Starmer’s Labour: the political equivalent of a soggy Ryvita.

- Dropped £28bn green investment pledge after cozying up to BlackRock execs in 2024¹⁸.

- Refuses to renationalise energy, despite 82% public support¹⁹.

BlackRock’s Greenwashing Retreat:

- Quit the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAMI) in 2025, caving to GOP lawsuits calling climate action a “cartel”²⁰.

- Opposed 98.6% of climate resolutions in 2024, claiming they “lack economic merit” (read: threaten oil profits)²¹.

- Scrubbed terms like “sustainability” from 56 funds to dodge EU regulations—greenwashing in reverse²².

Translation: Labour’s “progressive” facade is a corporate PR stunt. Starmer’s handlers at BlackRock would rather fund fossil fuel oligarchs than provide council housing.

WTF Can We Do?

1. General Strikes: France riots over pension cuts; we moan about Love Island. Grow a spine, it is literally all of us Vs them.

2. Rent Strikes & Squats: If landlords treat homes as ATMs, treat their “investments” like public property. Occupy, resist, make evictions impossible.

3. Divest from BlackRock: Demand UK pension funds pull *£300bn* from their climate-wrecking portfolios²³.

4. Tax the Bastards: Land, wealth, and inheritances at 90%. Tax their assets at source! No more trust-fund twats.

5. Erica Chenoweth: Erica's research has covered demonstrations, protests, regime changes and what she concluded was only 3.5% of a population is needed to bring about regime/government change. Be organised, join your local protest group today. Leave Labour, lobby your union reps repeatedly, and demand they disaffiliate from Labour too.

Remember: Neoliberalism only works if we let it.

Sources

#RentStrikeNow #EatTheLandlords #StarmerIsAWidget #StarmerOut #RedTories