Anti-privatisation campaigners launch petition calling for government to include public ownership as an option in its water commission

Anti-privatisation campaign group We Own It has launched a petition calling for the government to include an option of public ownership in its commission on the future of the water industry. We Own It say the petition represents the public responding to the government’s call for evidence in the review and has called the decision to exclude the option of public ownership as a ‘stupid idea’.

The petition reads: “You have refused to allow this review to look at the question of who owns our water.

“8 out of 10 people support public ownership; it is the normal way to run water in 90% of the world.

“We demand that you include public ownership as an option in your independent commission on the water sector.”

More than 13,000 people have signed the petition as of the time of publication.

Speaking on the petition, Matthew Topham, Lead Campaigner at We Own It, told Bright Green: “A commission to investigate the failures of our privatised water system is a great idea. Deliberately excluding public ownership as a potential solution is an incredibly stupid idea.

“Privatisation has come with a huge price tag. £78 billion lost to shareholder dividends. 3 billion litres of water a day, lost to leaking pipes. Natural habitats lost to sewage pollution. All whilst customer bills rise.

“By taking public ownership off the table, Steve Reed is effectively ‘blue-washing’ the privatised water sector’s image and potentially setting us up for another 36 years of exploitation.

“The government could take back control of our water for as little as £15bn – that’s how much the Treasury’s tax surplus was in January alone. Instead, the government is acting like a PR firm for the water companies – parroting the industry’s own ‘economically illiterate’ figures that massively inflate this cost.

“The Environment Secretary needs to address the elephant in the room – after 36 years of failed privatisation the solution is unlikely to be more privatisation.

“We are urging Steve Reed to come to his senses and include the option of public ownership in this water commission. Anything less will be an unforgivable betrayal of billpayers and the environment.”

Image credit: Horst Gutman – Creative Commons