There have been instances where contracts of all sorts have been interfered with by government—for example, the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. There have been instances where rent control came in, nearly always for social reasons. I always like to compare the Rent Acts and rent control and security of tenure, which caused the collapse of the private rented sector for about 25 years, and the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, where the contracts were largely left in place and statutorily continued, but at a market rent and the market was not interfered with. By and large, it worked and investment continued. Contrast and compare those two situations.
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There are instances, but I cannot think of another previous instance where large, successful companies—in which, admittedly, the Government have made a substantial investment and which are not primarily constituted for the purpose of providing an essential good to the public in the same way as gas, water, electricity and drainage, but do provide the bulk of data for ongoing commercial purposes—have had a Government step in to interfere with their arrangements. In these circumstances, the Government have very much done so at their peril, convinced, I fear, by the representations of the big telecom giants.