I was deeply concerned, as were many others, to learn earlier this year that Cameron and Osborne were planning to sell off the Land Registry.
The Land Registry is self-financing and brings money into the Exchequer rather than being a drain – so there is no financial argument for selling it off, quite the contrary.
As it holds private information about property transactions in this country the prospect of it being owned, for example, by a foreign company is deeply worrying.
The proposal was opposed by many including solicitors, the media, the UKs competition watchdog, and the Land Registry itself, whose General Secretary Mark Serwotka said:
selling off the Land Registry would be stupid and wrong, serving only private companies looking to profit from homeowners’ data.
The first time the proposal was mooted, in the coalition government, it was stopped by Vince Cable. Now it has been put on hold by the May government who say that they are re-considering it.
Let us hope that it never sees the light of day again. If you agree, there is a petition you can sign here.
This is great news – at least, it is so far. Let’s just hope that the Government doesn’t flip-flop on this like it has so many things. The Land Registry is something that should definitely be kept as a public body, not privatised. As solicitors who deal with property disputes the Land Registry is, of course, incredibly useful to both ourselves and our customers in its existing form.
I have just signed but I think you will find Mark Serwotka is the Trotskist General Secretary of some Trades Union or other and not the Land Register.