It’s not just the Tories fault though is it? ( Alright I wouldn’t trust Coffey to run a raffle) The water companies have been getting away with murder for years under all governments. I despair at the state of our rivers tbh ( I still do a bit of fishing) and the stuff that folk seem happy to Chuck in them and leave by them is truly disgusting. There really should be a cross party agreement to stop people taking the piss ( literally) with our rivers!
Fair point, the Lib Dems sold their souls to the devil. However, if we have PR and we regularly get minority/coalition governments, maybe they would learn to work together constructively. Let's face it things can't get any worse than they are now.
Too much money involved. The Tories have awarded 1.6billion of taxpayers' money to these private, for profit companies. Socialism for the rich, drip down for the rest
They sold the water boards off to their mates in the first place. I don't think Labour really saw water as a priority, I honestly can't remember what the situation was like then (that alone tells you something) but we never had sewage being pumped into rivers and the sea like now.
Definitely. I've known people with a very similar world view as myself but have always voted Tory or simply refused to vote. In my last couple of years in work, I worked on the yard at BCA car auctions with many people of limited education. The levels of ignorance were frankly disturbing.
It isn't just water though... ALL utilities an public services have been impacted... Tories/establishment/Thatcher etc. Sold the idea of privatisation to the public using two 'myths'..... 1 MYTH::. As you say... To raise capital for necessary investment of crumbling, outdated, infrastructure . PFI, water, railways, Buses, Electricity distribution etc. etc. Money other than taxpayers would 'flow in' enabling huge projects to modernise short term allowing investors a reasonable return in the following years. REALITY... Vast profits creamed off, little investment forthcoming, foreign companies cherry picking UK infrastructure allowing outflow of huge sums from the UK. Predictably Profit (an additional added 'cost') rather than improving services. 2 MYTH The public could 'buy into' privatisation (remember "Tell Sid") and become stakeholders. REALITY That was never going to happen as big businesses, pension funds, overseas investors and even foreign Governments jumped onto the gravy train leaving the public on the cold draughty platform waving goodbye to it as it trundled off into the distance and out of sight. Privatisation COULD have worked but was doomed as the necessary protections, safeguards against all of the above, either by incompetence or design (almost certainly design) from politicians looking after themselves and their friends was ignored. Half a plan is worse than no plan at all. The argument that Governments are not the right people to run businesses is correct but there has to be something better than what we have now. Renationalising is often talked about (given public services and utilities should really be 'not for profit' or at least run profitably and efficiently with 'profits' reinvested) but I have no idea how that would be funded especially in the current climate. The biggest disgrace was selling off energy to foreign companies putting our national security at risk.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This, in a nutshell. Selling off BT might have been the one that did make sense, as it has allowed them to move into other areas, which might have been more difficult to achieve as a public utility. Even that one is debatable TBH.
Don't get me wrong , the Tories have made a massive contribution and should be rightly pilloried for it, I just think others could have done stuff too. And I know its minor in the scheme of things but folk who just chuck stuff in the rivers ( or countryside) rather than take it to a bin do my head in.
