A water ‘industry body’ boss tells us why it should be re-nationalised in a BBC article – although This Writer doubts it is what he intended.
David Henderson, chief executive of Water UK (who?) reckons water regulator Ofwat is sabotaging privatised water companies’ chances of raising investment by proposing that bill rises be limited to £19 on average.
He told the BBC’s Today programme,
“If Ofwat doesn’t change its proposal then investors may not stump up the money that we need.
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“No rational investor is going to put their money into water right now.”
Mr Henderson rejected the idea that the amount paid out in dividends to investors in recent years was part of the reason there was not enough money for companies to invest, rather than just bills being lower.
He said returns were set by the regulator Ofwat, adding: “If you want investors to put their money into the UK they need to receive a return.
“We’ve been calling for investment for well over a decade and every five years Ofwat has denied the industry sufficient funds to invest as we need.”
Ofwat has said it will carefully consider all responses to its proposals, which are required by midday on Wednesday.
But Mr Henderson’s words show exactly what is wrong with the privatisation of public utilities like water.
Private investors want to see a strong return on the money they put into these firms – meaning they will always reject plans to spend money on improving the infrastructure or otherwise making the service they provide better.
Water companies have historically funnelled huge amounts of cash into the hands of shareholders – far more than they should have any right to expect – for this very reason, This Writer suspects.
It is a betrayal of one of the reasons we were told water should be privatised – by Margaret Thatcher, way back in the 1980s. She said private investment would modernise the system and make our bills cheaper.
Instead, we are stuck with a decaying system that dates back to the Victorian era, skyrocketing bills and water shareholders who are making off like bandits.
The only logical answer is to re-nationalise all the water companies and declare the privatisation experiment a failure.
When do you think Keir Starmer will get around to it? This Writer suspects it will only be after sewage backs up out of all the sinks and toilets in 10 Downing Street.
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Water ‘industry body’ boss tells us why it should be re-nationalised
A water ‘industry body’ boss tells us why it should be re-nationalised in a BBC article – although This Writer doubts it is what he intended.
David Henderson, chief executive of Water UK (who?) reckons water regulator Ofwat is sabotaging privatised water companies’ chances of raising investment by proposing that bill rises be limited to £19 on average.
He told the BBC’s Today programme,
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
Ofwat has said it will carefully consider all responses to its proposals, which are required by midday on Wednesday.
But Mr Henderson’s words show exactly what is wrong with the privatisation of public utilities like water.
Private investors want to see a strong return on the money they put into these firms – meaning they will always reject plans to spend money on improving the infrastructure or otherwise making the service they provide better.
Water companies have historically funnelled huge amounts of cash into the hands of shareholders – far more than they should have any right to expect – for this very reason, This Writer suspects.
It is a betrayal of one of the reasons we were told water should be privatised – by Margaret Thatcher, way back in the 1980s. She said private investment would modernise the system and make our bills cheaper.
Instead, we are stuck with a decaying system that dates back to the Victorian era, skyrocketing bills and water shareholders who are making off like bandits.
The only logical answer is to re-nationalise all the water companies and declare the privatisation experiment a failure.
When do you think Keir Starmer will get around to it? This Writer suspects it will only be after sewage backs up out of all the sinks and toilets in 10 Downing Street.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Join the uPopulus group at https://upopulus.com/groups/vox-political/
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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