Thames Water should be “put out of its misery” and renationalised, according to the deputy leader of Reform UK, in a sign that the backlash against water privatisation has become an increasingly populist issue.
Richard Tice told the Financial Times that the situation at the heavily indebted UK utility was “completely untenable” and that City financiers were trying to “rip off consumers even more” with high interest loans and millions in fees.
“It is essentially bust, capital projects are being delayed and it should be put out of its misery now. There has to be moral hazard. Let it go into special administration for £1 and reorganise it to the benefit of taxpayers and consumers.”
Reform’s call for renationalisation reflects a shift by populist parties around the world to focus on what they see as the extractive vices of global capitalism, including private equity investors, and their call for policies that have historically been more aligned with the left.
In response to a growing public outcry over executive pay and sewage discharges, the UK Green party has called for public ownership of all water companies. The Liberal Democrats, Britain’s third-biggest party, has said Thames Water should be brought under special administration.
The UK Labour government has said it favours a private-sector solution to the crisis at Thames over special administration, under which the state temporarily takes control of a company to ensure it remains in operation.
