I READ the letters from Ian Thomson and RJ Ardern (March 26), and agree with their views.

However, neither goes far enough, nor proposes a solution.

Mr Thomson properly observes that the problem goes back to the Thatcher Government when Mrs Thatcher was hellbent on privatising not only electricity and gas supply, but also water, telecom and railways. In addition, bus services were deregulated. The problem was her drive for privatisation was based on a false premise: she associated the process with competition leading to increased efficiency and lower prices. Currently, nothing is further from the truth. In the case of the Big Six energy companies, I would be hard pushed to design a cosier little cartel. The fact that so many foreign companies, some state-owned, have large stakes in our utilities speaks volumes about their profits.

Mrs Thatcher clearly did not like the way the various utilities were being run, but instead of changing their management structures, she abdicated her responsibilities by pursuing privatisation. Utility companies should be run for the benefit of the nation as a whole, the consumers, not for the benefit of the financial institutions. They should be renationalised back into public ownership as soon as possible.

Kirk K Gowans,

15 Kirkvale Drive,

Newton Mearns.