'Keir Starmer's Timid Refusal to Nationalise Failing Water Companies is a Symptom of a Government Cast Adrift'
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The collapse of KKR's planned rescue of Thames Water has exposed something even murkier than the sewage flowing into our rivers: the ideological bankruptcy at the heart of Britain's privatised water model.
Thames Water, burdened by £20 billion of debt and escalating pollution fines, now teeters on the edge of a special administration regime. Done the wrong way, that could morph into a taxpayer-funded bailout.
This fiasco isn't just corporate mismanagement; it reveals profound flaws in the Labour Government's timid approach to water reform. One vividly underscored by the narrow technocratic remit of the recent Cunliffe Review, which recently published its interim findings.
When Sir Jon Cunliffe, former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, was tasked last year with leading "the largest review of the water sector since privatisation," cautious optimism emerged.
Perhaps, after decades of catastrophic underinvestment, ecological ruin, and public outrage, Labour ministers had finally grasped the nettle. Instead, they ensured the Cunliffe Review explicitly restricted itself to "reforms within the privatised regulated model," excluding any meaningful exploration of public ownership - despite overwhelming public support.
This deliberate limitation was both predictable and tragic, highlighting Labour's broader political timidity - one born, in part, of No10 and 11's unimaginative, technocratic approach to governance.
Prospective Thames Water Private Equity Buyer 'Sent Bills Soaring' in UK and US
Campaigners say the preferred buyer of the failing UK water firm has a record of "rampant profiteering and financial abuse of service users" on both sides of the Atlantic
Olly Haynes
The interim Cunliffe report repeatedly admits that decisions around water governance are inherently political. Paragraph 85 explicitly states, "only Government can set overarching strategic goals," acknowledging the profound, systemic issues facing the industry extend beyond technocratic solutions.
Cunliffe effectively told Environment Secretary Steve Reed: 'This is a huge sh*t sandwich, filled with strategic-level decisions, and it's you - with societal backing - that must take a big bite.'
Time to Show You Really Keir
Keir Starmer's Government now faces a stark choice: confront this challenge decisively or continue stumbling from crisis to crisis.
This attempted technocratic evasion is likely to leave profound questions unanswered about ownership, accountability, and the very nature of public services in an era of political and ecological crises.
The approach is symptomatic of a deeper malaise. From paralysis over Gaza
For digital and print editions, packed with exclusive investigations, analysis, features, and columns….
SUBSCRIBE
The collapse of KKR's planned rescue of Thames Water has exposed something even murkier than the sewage flowing into our rivers: the ideological bankruptcy at the heart of Britain's privatised water model.
Thames Water, burdened by £20 billion of debt and escalating pollution fines, now teeters on the edge of a special administration regime. Done the wrong way, that could morph into a taxpayer-funded bailout.
This fiasco isn't just corporate mismanagement; it reveals profound flaws in the Labour Government's timid approach to water reform. One vividly underscored by the narrow technocratic remit of the recent Cunliffe Review, which recently published its interim findings.
When Sir Jon Cunliffe, former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, was tasked last year with leading "the largest review of the water sector since privatisation," cautious optimism emerged.
Perhaps, after decades of catastrophic underinvestment, ecological ruin, and public outrage, Labour ministers had finally grasped the nettle. Instead, they ensured the Cunliffe Review explicitly restricted itself to "reforms within the privatised regulated model," excluding any meaningful exploration of public ownership - despite overwhelming public support.
This deliberate limitation was both predictable and tragic, highlighting Labour's broader political timidity - one born, in part, of No10 and 11's unimaginative, technocratic approach to governance.
Prospective Thames Water Private Equity Buyer 'Sent Bills Soaring' in UK and US
Campaigners say the preferred buyer of the failing UK water firm has a record of "rampant profiteering and financial abuse of service users" on both sides of the Atlantic
Olly Haynes
The interim Cunliffe report repeatedly admits that decisions around water governance are inherently political. Paragraph 85 explicitly states, "only Government can set overarching strategic goals," acknowledging the profound, systemic issues facing the industry extend beyond technocratic solutions.
Cunliffe effectively told Environment Secretary Steve Reed: 'This is a huge sh*t sandwich, filled with strategic-level decisions, and it's you - with societal backing - that must take a big bite.'
Time to Show You Really Keir
Keir Starmer's Government now faces a stark choice: confront this challenge decisively or continue stumbling from crisis to crisis.
This attempted technocratic evasion is likely to leave profound questions unanswered about ownership, accountability, and the very nature of public services in an era of political and ecological crises.
The approach is symptomatic of a deeper malaise. From paralysis over Gaza
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