Weasel words on canals

Following various postings on the threat to our waterways, including mine here, it was announced in the Lords on Monday that the Labour government was publishing "an asset portfolio listing the state-owned assets that the Government could commercialise over the medium term. This includes options for the future sale of the Tote, the student loan book, the Dartford crossing and the High Speed 1 rail link, and for potential alternative forms of ownership for British Waterways agreed by myself and the Secretary of State for Defra." (My italics.)

This is being written in advance of Prime Minister's Questions and the Pre-Budget Statement. It will be interesting to see whether questions in either session will tease out details of the government's intentions.