Since privatisation in 1989 there has been relentless profiteering by utilities companies. A new report by Centre Forum catalogues the chronic failure of regulation and the drive by debt ridden companies to maximise short term profits at the expense of infrastructure investment. In Northern Ireland and Scotland water remains in public ownership. There is no shortage of evidence that water privatisation has failed in England and Wales. It's time to bring it back into public ownership as a common good:
http://centreforum.org/assets/pubs/money-down-the-drain.pdf
A recent opinion poll revealed that 70% of the UK population wants renationalisation of water services. Since the 1989 privatisation of water utilities in England and Wales, hundreds of millions of pounds have been diverted into shareholder profits rather than invested in the water network. Paul Donovan, writing in Tribune, puts a compelling argument for the renationalisation of water to enable the challenges of drought and climate change to be effectively tackled:
http://www.tribunemagazine.co.uk/
2012/05/this-money-grabbing-reign-must-end/
