An entire third of a person’s average water bill in Yorkshire already goes to dividends and debt for private company Yorkshire Water. When Margaret Thatcher handed over our essential water assets to private industry, they were debt-free. Yorkshire Water now has debt of £6.2bn.
Yorkshire Water: fleecing the people
On top of the dividends and debt accumulation, prices are rising by 41% to £607 annually over the next five years. Nonetheless, Yorkshire Water CEO Nicola Shaw shrugged off her £371,000 bonus, saying:
My shareholders are paying for that bonus and want to make sure I am incentivised to keep turning the business around and to make sure these investments work for Yorkshire
Shaw’s base salary for 2023-24 already amounted to an eye-watering £585,000. As with extreme hierarchical pay – particularly in monopolies, part of the figure is for keeping the gravy train on the track. Shareholders in Yorkshire Water have received £522m in dividends since 2017.
No wonder they are happy to fill Shaw’s pockets with gold. They are effectively paying for her bonus with a fraction of the millions in dividends, the value of which comes from the fact people need water to live – it’s a guaranteed purchase.
Speaking to ITV, Shaw herself nailed one of the problems with private equity eating up an essential industry by saying:
When people lend you money, they obviously want to see a return
The solution is to nationalise the water industry and fund it debt-free through the sovereign currency, with cheaper consumer bills returning money to the public service. England is actually one of the only countries in the world to have a fully privatised water and sanitation system.
That’s because it’s obvious to anyone that water is a common need where there’s no sense in private profiteering. Indeed, 69% of Britons believe water should be in public ownership, compared to 19% who opt for private.
Public ownership more likely to deliver cleaner environment
When it comes to sewage spills, Yorkshire Water was the second worst offender for 2023, pumping sewage into the environment for around half a million hours. Ofwat plans to fine the company £47m for the spillages.
There is a correlation between public ownership and cleaner water in the environment. Countries with water in 100% public ownership like Cyprus, Austria and Malta have above 95% excellent water in bathing sites. By contrast, the UK has an average of 66.3% excellent water, putting us near the bottom of our European counterparts. Yet Labour prime minister Keir Starmer has praised Thatcher for bringing “meaningful change” to the UK.
In fact, Austrian people view water privatisation as so bananas, they banned it via the constitution. The UK should follow suit.
Featured image via ITV
