Privatisation does not work.
JVL Introduction
Yet another area where Starmer’s government is failing to act in the interests and the wishes of the majority of the electorate. Huge dividends and minimal investment. We are told that renationalisation would be too expensive but this article is clear on the failures and the financial and environmental costs for all of us. This article has valuable information and a staggering graph showing that of the G7 countries, prior to Thatcher’s privatisation the UK had the highest level of public wealth but now has the second lowest. It is based on research on four key sectors: energy, transport, water and mail.
At the end of the article is a link to the speech Clive Lewis MP made about privatisation that he calls “exploitation of a common resource for private gain” he says of water privatisation that in the 35 years before privatisation there were 100 reservoirs built and in the 35 years since no major reservoirs have been built in England and 25 have been sold off. In terms of living standards, privatisation is a key cause of the rise in the cost of living.
LL
This article was originally published by The Guardian on Tue 16 Sep 2025. Read the original here.
UK public has paid £200bn to shareholders of key industries since privatisation
Analysis reveals ‘privatisation premium’ of £250 per household per year paid to owners of water, rail, bus, energy and mail services since 2010
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I agree passionately. My borough, Camden (including Holborn & St Pancras- sound familiar?) , has farmed out almost everything with disastrous results and keeps saying that all the contracts have to be renewed even when the company is distastrous, incompetent, unethical and treats its workers terribly. . My particular bugbear is Veolia. Previously the bins team was lovely and I knew them and we always made a Christmas donation. Now they hardly ever come and the ‘customer service’ line is trained just to refuse doing anything. Similar with the postal service,now very erratic; the same postie is still working in the borough but has been pushed into another area, the whole idea seems to be to break down any links or community and it feels like only a matter of time till we have no post offices left. I coudl go on: the GP trying to get me to go to private ‘free at the point of use’ services which are incompetent compared with the NHS; the terrible buildings rising all around Camden full of unaffordable flats for only one or two people , so that schools are having to close because hardly anyone can afford to have children in our borough?
WHEN WILL THEY EVER LEARN THAT IN THE LONG RUN PRIVATISATION IS A TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY?
“THEY” know, but as it makes those doing the privatisation are benefitting (cash, or politically) “THEY” give not a toss (or not much).