There is plenty of evidence to suggest that expanding public ownership is popular with the public. But what matters in delivering reform is not the policies themselves, but rather the perception that a party can do it without crashing the economy.
That was the key problem with Jeremy Corbyn’s 2017 and 2019 manifestos. The measures won plaudits. The polls pointed to public support. But few Britons felt they could trust Labour under Corbyn to competently deliver public ownership without any material damage to either the country or the median voter’s financial position.
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