Don’t Bring Out The Branson - Applaud The Heroes Of Today Instead

have to admit, I quite admired Richard Branson when I was much younger, I think.

I can’t actually remember why I admired him, maybe I’m confusing him with Pierce Brosnan.


But now when I see Mr Branson I feel much like I do when Keir Starmer suddenly and unexpectedly pops up on the 6 O’clock news - it is like a deep sense of unease, as if someone is trying to wring out my vital organs before doing a moonwalk on my grave. 


Now let’s get this “politics of envy” bullshit out of the way first of all. 


Mr Branson can earn whatever he likes, but that doesn’t stop us from pointing out the fact that he, or any of the other 2,755 global billionaires with a combined wealth of more than $13 TRILLION - do not make a billion, they take a billion. 


According to Forbes, Branson is worth $6 billion USD (£4.3 billion) - and is number 478 on their real-time list of billionaires, as of July 2021. 


Branson lives on Necker Island, which is part of the British Virgin Islands, around 1,000 miles southeast of Miami. He owns the entire island. 


So you get the idea. Branson doesn’t live from one pay cheque to the next, he doesn’t notice the gas bill going out of the bank, and he probably doesn’t get on the phone to Coutts to ask why they’ve charged him £30 for going overdrawn. 


In plain English, Mr Branson is absolutely minted. 


Seriously, who needs £4 billion? What can you possibly spend it on? 


Why does Mr Branson need £4 billion when 356 MILLION children are living in extreme poverty, on less than £1.40 a day? 


Now I’m sure Mr Branson’s supporters, whoever they might be, would say he is worth every single Pound of that obscene pile of wealth. 


But does he *need* every Pound of his cash mountain? 


What would be better, Mr Branson? £1 billion sat in your bank doing absolutely nothing, or 3 brand spanking new hospitals where they are needed the most? 


Wouldn't you rather be remembered as the great philanthropist that built 3 brand new hospitals for the people that made you so repugnantly wealthy, rather than the twat in a balloon that cosied up to Tony and Dave? 


As socialists, this would be simple for us to answer. But the capitalists just struggle to think this way, and that is why not a single brick has been laid towards the 40 new hospitals promised to us by the abominable liar Johnson. 


And of course, why on earth would Mr Branson want to build 3 new hospitals? 


Let’s talk about Virgin Care for a moment. 

This from anti-privatisation group ‘NHS For Sale’ will tell you everything you need to know about Virgin Care’s relationship with the NHS.


In early 2020, Virgin Care reported on its website that it operates over 400 NHS services around England; despite the scale of its business the company shows no signs of making a profit. 


Indeed, according to its accounts, since 2010 the company has recorded an annual loss in the UK. As Virgin Care Ltd makes no profit in the UK, the company pays no tax in the UK. However, Virgin Care Ltd is a small entity in Richard Branson’s Virgin empire. Virgin Care’s ultimate parent company is Virgin Group Holdings Ltd registered in the tax haven of the British Virgin Islands.


If you’ve got this far through today’s rant and you genuinely believe Mr Branson is doing this for the NHS, you know, doing it out of love, you’ve legit not been paying attention. 


In November 2017 the NHS paid an undisclosed settlement to Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Care after the threat of legal action.


Then we move on to Mr Branson’s Virgin Care starting High Court proceedings against NHS England in 2016 after the private healthcare group lost its bid to provide children’s services in Surrey.


In November 2016, Virgin Care sued six Surrey clinical commissioning groups, NHS England and Surrey County Council after a three-year £82 million healthcare deal was awarded to a group of in-house NHS providers and a social enterprise. 


In the interests of fairness, Virgin Care claimed in a word salad website post that it was wrong to say they sued the NHS. 


You can obviously decide for yourself. 


But you do wonder why a giant private health care group, apparently not making a single penny from its UK operations, would feel the need to sue, for not winning a contract that wouldn’t make them a profit anyway? Are you with me? 


Moving on from healthcare, Mr Branson is also very proud of his jumbo jets. Do you think it’s like one giant real life toy set? 


But he did have to swallow that pride somewhat in 2020 - sadly not with a mouthful of that ghastly Virgin Cola - when Virgin Atlantic had to cut 1,150 jobs and secure a £1.2 billion bailout. 


This is the guy with literally billions sitting in his bank account. 


Strip him of his knighthood and place it upon the shoulders of Gary and Phil Neville, or Marcus Rashford, as these are the heroes of today.


In the early part of the crisis, Virgin Atlantic issued a plea for state support and owner Sir Richard Branson warned it would be unlikely to survive without it. Branson even offered his island as some sort of a deposit, or collateral if you like. 


As I just said, billions in the bank. 


So what about Virgin Galactic? I’m sure it’s something many people have dreamed of doing, not me personally, and how very noble of Mr Branson to say: 


"We're here to make space more accessible to all at. 

The mission statement that I wrote inside my spacesuit was to turn the dream of space travel into a reality for my grandchildren ... and for many people who are alive today, for everybody." 


Great speech, but the company has about 600 reservations for tickets on future flights, sold at prices between $200,000 and $250,000 each. 


So your grandchildren are going to need very deep pockets to climb aboard VSS Unity. 


But you do have to wonder why this billion Dollar super galactic floating erection was even a thing considering just one year ago Mr Branson was insisting Virgin Atlantic might not survive without state intervention. 


Of course, I’m looking at this in a very simplified way, this is me after all, but simplified doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the wrong way of doing things. If you’re lucky enough to be a billionaire through the hard graft of a nation, you give back.


I repeat, you do not make a billion, you take a billion, and what could be more patriotic than giving back to the people that helped put you where you are now? 


I guess I just find it morally repugnant when I see a Billion dollars going up in the sky while millions of humans on the ground do not have a home, or a meal - and just the simple things that so many of us take for granted seem further out of reach than ever before. 


But that’s just me. 


Take care folks.


Rachael x



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