But its managers have been instructed to maximise profits, and minimise costs, just like a private firm. Four or five country pubs a week cease trading. Usually they are turned into upmarket housing. The influx of commuters and affluent retired people into villages drives up house prices beyond the reach of many who were born there. And Labour has failed to deliver on its manifesto pledge to save country bus routes, a lifeline for those who can't afford a car.
Farmers are just one link in the food chain.
Compared with the supermarket chains, they are small fry. So the supermarkets, through their buying power, have farmers by the short hairs. Now it's only 9p in the pound. Last year the Competition Commission took a look at supermarkets. It wasn't easy.