16 Oct 2024
The privatised English water system has been singled out for criticism by the UN special rapporteur on the human right to clean water. Photo by Nick Vasin Prof Pedro Arrojo-Agudo said water systems should be managed as a publicly owned service, rather than run by private companies set up to benefit shareholders. The […]
10 Apr 2024
Interesting think piece from The Mint Magazine, covering water industry performance since privatisation, levels of debt and investment, and options for reforming the sector under a new government. The case for renationalisation Another article from Labour Peer Prem Sikka and published in Left Foot Forward argues the case for renationalisation Let Thames Water go bust: […]
24 May 2023
Ministers were warned about the dangers of private equity taking over the water industry in a briefing that has been kept secret for 20 years, according to the Guardian. Details of the analysis are still being withheld as sewage pollution and the failure of water companies to invest in infrastructure are under national scrutiny. On […]
24 May 2023
In a new paper, Time to pull the plug on the water privatisation model, Professor Sir Dieter Helm says the current water model needs an overhaul: “The sheer scale of public anger is a once-in-a-30-year opportunity to put it right, reform properly and create a new model that lasts,” he said. He calls for: A […]
06 Dec 2022
A Guardian investigation unpicks complex web of investment firms, wealth funds and tax haven-based businesses that own most of sector England’s water: the world’s piggy bank Can global water investors be held to account? England’s water: is privatised model a fair system? England’s water firms respond to investigation into role of global investors England’s water […]
13 Feb 2019
A recent Parliamentary debate in the House of Commons on the future of the UK water sector saw calls for the water companies in England to be based on the Scottish Water public sector model or the Welsh Water ownership model with “democratic public ownership” via new consumer and employee trusts. Gareth Thomas (Harrow West) […]
15 Feb 2018
A few weeks ago there was an exchange of letters between Michael Gove and the chairman of Ofwat. In his short letter Michael Gove highlighted a number of points he found unacceptable in the privatised water industry. A new report from the Social Market Foundation think-tank assessing the likely costs associated with nationalising the water and sewerage […]
13 Jun 2017
A report in the Financial Times newspaper has suggested that consumers are now paying £2.3 billion per annum than would have been the case if the water companies had remained in public ownership. The article cites research undertaken by the University of Greenwich which it says has calculated the cost of privatisation to each household […]
