Britain begins great national sell-off

A fire sale of public assets including the Channel Tunnel and a uranium manufacturer was due to be announced by the British government in an attempt to cut its mounting deficit.

The Tote betting chain, the Dartford crossing, the student loan book, the rail link to France and the Government's stake in Urenco, which manufactures enriched uranium, will be offered to private bidders in the next two years to try to raise £3 billion ($6.5 billion).

Prime Minister Gordon Brown was last night expected to deliver a long-planned speech on economic management and hold a question-and-answer session with leading economic commentators to lay out a strategy for steering the economy out of crisis.

The most controversial of the proposed sales is the 33 per cent government stake in Urenco, because of the risk of enriched uranium getting into the wrong hands.

The sell-offs are the latest in a number of plans as the Labour government looks to curb the budget deficit, which is fast becoming the biggest single issue between the main political parties as the 2010 general election approaches.

It could hit a record £220 billion this year, or 12 per cent of gross domestic product.

In March, Chancellor Alistair Darling appointed Rothschild to prepare the sale of the Royal Mint, which is expected to fetch £35 billion. It was thought the next asset to be put on sale would be Ordnance Survey.

Local councils are also feeling the pressure from the government to prepare more surplus assets for sale. The Prime Minister is hoping that the combined sales by local and central government will come to £16 billion, to add to £30 billion of asset sales set out in a Treasury report by Sir Michael Lyons, commissioned by Brown five years ago.

Nearly half the sales that made up Lyons' total came from council housing, and more than a quarter from sales by local government. Central government was expected to contribute only about £1 billion a year for seven years.

The Ministry of Defence has been the biggest single contributor to government asset sales since the ending of the Cold War 20 years ago.

The sale of Chelsea Barracks alone, in 2007, raised £959 million. NHS trusts are expected to raise £200 million this year, and a similar sum next year, from selling surplus land and buildings.

- INDEPENDENT