LETTER – The death of Bradford and Bingley means the end of one of the stupidities of the 1980s and 1990s. There is now no demutalised building society that has not failed or been taken over.

So much for the looney ideas about financial privatisation that allow a few to rake in billions.

I hope every Tory, Labour, and Liberal Democrat supporter who stood by while their parties lined up to propose or support this lunacy are hanging their heads in shame.

And while we are at it there are quite a few letter writers to the Shropshire Star who might want to write an apology. But other lunacies persist. Take rail privatisation. Has anyone noticed that there are no trains on the Shrewsbury to Wolverhampton line on a Sunday at the moment?

Even though the privatised rail companies get bigger subsidies than the old BR, they still get it wrong.

And the replacement bus service is a fiasco with drivers and buses brought in from anywhere with no knowledge of the area.

How about the 13.25 Shifnal to Shrewsbury service this Sunday?

It failed to call at Shifnal station where the passengers were waiting, stopping on the road below without any warning or notices. And the 13.25 Shifnal to Wolverhampton was late and the driver got lost.

Doesn’t it make you proud to live a country that is leading the way in building a private market economy. I would gladly pay for a ticket on the XL airline for MPs Pritchard, Wright and Kawczynski to tour the world to boast of our successes, had it not gone bankrupt.

M Chambers, Shifnal