Greed pure and simple , water companies should have a stop imposed on share bonuses and directors bonuses until they reach and are constantly achieving higher standards , then and only then can performance related payments be issued , phasing out of overseas owners , same goes for gas and electricity
1. The leakage graphs I have seen for recent decades show that the levels are effectively constant. 2. The underlying problem could be difficult to surmount. however tech generally improves at least linearly over time, which means new solution methods become available. A govt in good faith can ask the industry to show #2 is so (while in parallel doing their own independent assessment) . If it arises that the industry has been taking the p*ss, then the solution is to impose BIG fines that really damage profit margins. Big shareholders will not remain in companies whose business execution continually brings self-inflicted pain, and the more savvy will take a short-term big CAPEX/OPEX hit on dividends if it means not "killing the goose that lays the golden egg" .
Yeah that , just tell them stop taking the piss or the people will drag you into the streets and hang you by the balls from a lamp post We want to live in a country that looks after the land and its people ffs is that too much to ask
Water was privatised in 1989 for £7.6bn. Since then they have paid their shareholders nearly £60bn in dividends - and £19bn since 2010. Do the maths.
It's also worth noting that Angela "Funny Tinge" Smith is getting it in the neck, partly because since crashing out of politics at the 2019 election (yet seeming to be very happy about it...) she joined Portsmouth Water's board as a non-executive director, but mainly because as chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Water she was firmly against renationalising to the point she penned a particularly PassAgg piece for the Grauniad in 2018 which has not only aged about as well as thinking that hanging around with Chukka Umuna or Gavin Shuker would further your political career, but also demonstrates her complete lack of understanding as it was EU standards which dragged the quality of our waterways up, just as she conveniently omits the minor detil of Scottish water being publicly owned...
Since the Tories (and Tom Hardofthinking) are now claiming that the Tories allowed raw sewage to be dumped into our rivers out of the goodness of their hearts to avoid dumping a £600m repair bill onto the taxpayer, here's somebody outlining how that's a load of ****e
This is the same bullshit that they came out with about worker's rights. The EU set a minimum standard. We could've raised it at any point we wanted to. They've no interest in improving standards in any area, other than profit for their mates.
Many unions say wages are not keeping pace with the rising cost of living and their members need a pay rise. So who's going on strike, when, and how will it affect you? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62632167 The fact that this is an article on the BBC sums up the current shambles of a government.
Rumours circulating that the TUC announcement at 10.30 tonight might be to announce a General Strike! Not before time if it is! Bring the feckin' country to a standstill
