Tue 20 Feb 2018, 06:11 AM | Posted by editor
Anyone looking for another reason to renationalise the water industry need look no further than reports from the Environment Agency. They complain that the levels of water pollution due to ‘accidents’ by the water industry are “alarming” and holding steady at around 60 every year. Last year, Thames Water was fined £20m for dumping 1.4bn litres of untreated sewage – enough to fill 1,700 Olympic-sized swimming pools – into the Thames, in an act the judge said was “borderline deliberate”. But this was equivalent to only ten days operating profit…and so Thames Water is left laughing all the way to the bank.
In the decade up to 2016, the company paid out £1.6bn in dividends while it racked up £10bn of debt. In other words, rather than use income to invest, it gives the dosh to the shareholders while letting the pension fund slip into £260m arrears and saddling the company with debts. The debts and pension deficit will no doubt be given back to the government to sort out in the future.
These companies should be renationalised by Labour and without any further compensation, except on the basis of proven need.
(source: Financial Times, Feb 20)
