NPR

Tichtheid wrote: ↑Wed Jun 28, 2023 9:58 am Is there an industry where privatisation has been a major success story?

Full privatization of water supply and sanitation is an exception today, being limited to England, Chile and some cities in the United States

I like neeps wrote: ↑Wed Jun 28, 2023 9:50 am

sockwithaticket wrote: ↑Wed Jun 28, 2023 9:37 am

Hal Jordan wrote: ↑Wed Jun 28, 2023 9:04 am And, as if by magic, Thames Water is looking like it's about to fall over.


Dump shit in the water.
Ignore leaks.
View fines as an operating cost as opposed to an incentive to improve.
Dividends!
Socialise the risk, because the public purse will pick up the pieces if it all goes wrong, so why worry?

Absolute fucking scum. They've spent years utilising profit for shareholder dividends and bonuses rather than investment and taken on debt in order to make those payments even more eye-wateringly large.

Uk water industry debt pre-privatisation: fuck all
post-privatisation: about £54 billion.

Debt's fine if you take it on to actually invest in something tangible and worthwhile, but they haven't been doing that.

On top of recent price rises that are apparently necessary to help them fund all the work they should have already done with consumers' payments, water companies are already lobbying the regulator and government for further raises from 2025.

Fuck 'em. Should be renationalised or at the very least turned into non-profits.

As the sensibles will tell you there's no money to renationalise them (and even less political will) and no business will decide to run a non profit that is saddling with debt and crumbling infrastructure.

This is just the mess that is privatisation. You have the Tories and New Labour to thank. And it's only going to get worse and more expensive.

Insane_Homer wrote: ↑Wed Jun 28, 2023 10:05 am

Full privatization of water supply and sanitation is an exception today, being limited to England, Chile and some cities in the United States

Raggs wrote: ↑Wed Jun 28, 2023 10:34 am They'll want to fail before labour get in, just in case labour decide to take the opportunity to nationalise them.

Raggs wrote: ↑Wed Jun 28, 2023 10:34 am They'll want to fail before labour get in, just in case labour decide to take the opportunity to nationalise them.

dpedin wrote: ↑Wed Jun 28, 2023 10:15 am

Insane_Homer wrote: ↑Wed Jun 28, 2023 10:05 am

Full privatization of water supply and sanitation is an exception today, being limited to England, Chile and some cities in the United States

This! Water and sanitation is a public health priority and should not be given to private sector to make a profit from in a monopoly. It is dangerous leaving it in the hands of private profit making hands - England will eventually end up with a Flint, Michigan type disaster. Regulate them to the hilt and let them go bust then take over on the cheap. So far the private companies have taken all the profit yet the risks remain with UK Gov plc.

Daniel Korski latest: Tory London mayoral hopeful drops out of race after groping claims
Daniel Korski said he decided ‘with a heavy heart’ to withdraw from the mayoral contest

Insane_Homer wrote: ↑Wed Jun 28, 2023 1:50 pm Raab's bill of rights bonfire ditched.

sturginho wrote: ↑Wed Jun 28, 2023 4:26 pm

Insane_Homer wrote: ↑Wed Jun 28, 2023 1:50 pm Raab's bill of rights bonfire ditched.

Can't remember if that was already mentioned, but it's good for them in that they can continue to blame ECHR for everything

Sandstorm wrote: ↑Wed Jun 28, 2023 11:42 am

Raggs wrote: ↑Wed Jun 28, 2023 10:34 am They'll want to fail before labour get in, just in case labour decide to take the opportunity to nationalise them.

Thames Water are only 20% owned by British shareholders. The majority are in Canada. Fuck 'em.

While the consortium that has owned Thames since 2017 has yet to take a dividend out of it, its predecessor – the Australian bank Macquarie – has been widely criticised for its stewardship of the water company between 2006 and 2017. It has faced accusations of “asset stripping” and “ripping off the taxpayer” by not paying corporation tax. It is estimated that Macquarie left Thames with an extra £2.2bn in loans and £2.7bn was taken out in dividends, while the water company’s debts rose sharply from £3.4bn to £10.8bn under its ownership.

Eyebrows were raised when Macquarie was allowed by regulators to wade back into the English water industry in 2021, with the acquisition of struggling Southern Water

lemonhead wrote: ↑Wed Jun 28, 2023 9:24 pm

Sandstorm wrote: ↑Wed Jun 28, 2023 11:42 am

Raggs wrote: ↑Wed Jun 28, 2023 10:34 am They'll want to fail before labour get in, just in case labour decide to take the opportunity to nationalise them.

Thames Water are only 20% owned by British shareholders. The majority are in Canada. Fuck 'em.

While the consortium that has owned Thames since 2017 has yet to take a dividend out of it, its predecessor – the Australian bank Macquarie – has been widely criticised for its stewardship of the water company between 2006 and 2017. It has faced accusations of “asset stripping” and “ripping off the taxpayer” by not paying corporation tax. It is estimated that Macquarie left Thames with an extra £2.2bn in loans and £2.7bn was taken out in dividends, while the water company’s debts rose sharply from £3.4bn to £10.8bn under its ownership.

Eyebrows were raised when Macquarie was allowed by regulators to wade back into the English water industry in 2021, with the acquisition of struggling Southern Water

Still fkin mystified how they went and got another water company afterwards. We're asleep at the wheel.

tabascoboy wrote: ↑Thu Jun 29, 2023 8:24 am Long and detailed thread compiled for tweets, tl;dr is that the business model for privatised water companies can't support all three of: investor dividends, investment in infrastructure and reaching required environmental/quality standards - and of course we know that the last two have been dropped in order to meet the first...

This has supporting images: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1674 ... 46690.html

"Richard Murphy
Economic justice campaigner. Professor of Accounting Practice, Sheffield University. Chartered accountant. Political economist. Opinions all my own."

Decision reverses High Court's December ruling
The decision of the High Court is reversed - and the removal of asylum seekers to Rwanda is unlawful until changes are made to the asylum system there, the Court of Appeal rules.

the removal of asylum seekers to Rwanda is fucking stupid

I like neeps wrote: ↑Thu Jun 29, 2023 8:45 am

tabascoboy wrote: ↑Thu Jun 29, 2023 8:24 am Long and detailed thread compiled for tweets, tl;dr is that the business model for privatised water companies can't support all three of: investor dividends, investment in infrastructure and reaching required environmental/quality standards - and of course we know that the last two have been dropped in order to meet the first...

This has supporting images: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1674 ... 46690.html

"Richard Murphy
Economic justice campaigner. Professor of Accounting Practice, Sheffield University. Chartered accountant. Political economist. Opinions all my own."

The problem is if you're a private monopoly you don't even need to try. And lawyers, banker's, accountants and those involved in capital structuring to increase dividends have no reason to care about the service to customers rather than shareholder value.

tabascoboy wrote: ↑Thu Jun 29, 2023 9:31 am And let's hope this causes Braverman to spontaneously combust

SaintK wrote: ↑Thu Jun 29, 2023 9:54 am

tabascoboy wrote: ↑Thu Jun 29, 2023 9:31 am And let's hope this causes Braverman to spontaneously combust

2:1 split decision so will go to Supreme Court

tabascoboy wrote: ↑Thu Jun 29, 2023 11:39 am

SaintK wrote: ↑Thu Jun 29, 2023 9:54 am

tabascoboy wrote: ↑Thu Jun 29, 2023 9:31 am And let's hope this causes Braverman to spontaneously combust

2:1 split decision so will go to Supreme Court

Apparently so.

tabascoboy wrote: ↑Thu Jun 29, 2023 11:29 am Business as usual in the Tory Party, no action required I'm sure

Customers withdraw record amount of savings in May

Billpayers dipped into bank and savings accounts at a record level in May, prompting warnings from charities about the ongoing high cost of living.

There was £4.6bn more withdrawn than paid into bank and building society accounts, the Bank of England said.

That was the highest level seen since comparable records began 26 years ago.

The rising cost of living, including grocery bills, mortgage payments, and rent, is putting household finances under strain.

Richard Lane, director of external affairs at debt charity StepChange, said it was vital that people were supported to build up savings to provide resilience against unexpected bills.

"This is the latest in a long line of warnings that more and more people are struggling to cope with the cost of living," he said.

"Cost pressures are everywhere and eroding people's financial headroom, leaving them more vulnerable to harmful borrowing and problem debt."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66051711

Hal Jordan wrote: ↑Fri Jun 30, 2023 1:33 pm Poor, poor, Nigel. Yeeted by the wokerati at that bastion of lefties, Coutts.

fishfoodie wrote: ↑Fri Jun 30, 2023 1:43 pm

Hal Jordan wrote: ↑Fri Jun 30, 2023 1:33 pm Poor, poor, Nigel. Yeeted by the wokerati at that bastion of lefties, Coutts.

The speculated reasons for them declining his business are, interesting

fishfoodie wrote: ↑Fri Jun 30, 2023 1:43 pm

Hal Jordan wrote: ↑Fri Jun 30, 2023 1:33 pm Poor, poor, Nigel. Yeeted by the wokerati at that bastion of lefties, Coutts.

The speculated reasons for them declining his business are, interesting

Hal Jordan wrote: ↑Fri Jun 30, 2023 1:33 pm Poor, poor, Nigel. Yeeted by the wokerati at that bastion of lefties, Coutts.