Utilities

[Kathyan]

In view of the lastest price rises for gas, electricity and now the 'water shortage' nonsense, does anyone agree that the utilities should be brought back into public ownership? Surely in this day and age we have a right to water and heating etc without lining the pockets of fat cat company bosses and their shareholders?

[don1]

If the voting public of this country were not so gullible the utility companies would never have got into private hands in the first place Kathyan, but you are absolutely right they should be taken back into state ownership.

It isn't going to happen unfortunately because you have the choice of an extreme right wing party called the tory party, or an extreme right wing party run by Tory Blair.

[Gevs1966]

Can you please explain why you think they should be taken back into state ownership?

Neither of you have given a reason.

If they were taken back into state ownership then the tax payer would have to subsidise any cost increases.

I also don't see how you can blame a water shortage, the cause of which has a lot to do with low rainfall, on privatisation........... please explain?

[Kathyan]

They should be taken back into state ownership so that they are not run to make huge profits for the shareholders and bosses. Surely in this day and age everyone is entitled to warmth, light and water. These companies are putting up prices by anything up to 22% whilst pensions and wages are only going up by the rate on inflation. With regard to water companies, they are more interested in paying shareholders than repairing crumbling pipework to stop water being wasted through leakage.

[Gevs1966]

With regards to the gas price increases, these stem from the original suppliers of the gas itself and not from the privatised suppliers hiking prices for profit benefits. If it was state run then these higher costs will still be incurred and the taxpayer will have to bear the brunt of the extra cost whether they use gas or not.

Same with the water pipe network, there are millions of pounds worth of repairs needed on an ageing system. Again if these were state owned then the taxpayer will still feel the burden in the form of extra taxes.

If this were to happen then you would be the first to moan about why you pay such high tax rates.

Aside to this, the problems the utilities companies are facing have ALWAYS been there and it is not a new thing at all. In fact it is one of the reasons that these services were privatised in the first place. People have short memories!

[qapmoc]

You had better get in touch with reality, we (the world) are starting to run out of oil and gas just about .......NOW.
Who owns the delivery systems makes no difference whatsoever

You might not notice that fact for a few years yet but what you will see is the steady increase in energy costs as more and more countries realise this and are prepared to pay more (pushing the prices up) to get their hands on what is left.

If you doubt this then google "peak oil" or go here and read the home page.

[gary baldy]

The Utilities were sold off way below the actual market value. The idea was sold as enabling the 'average' man and woman to own a piece of the nations important infra structure. This was huge lie because really all the Tories wanted to do was sell off our resources to big business and then go and sit on the boards of these companies once they retired. As it is our essential services are now not owned by 'the British people' but by a very select, very rich and increasingly foriegn few.
Because they were sold below their real value the British Government could simply not afford to buy them back - even if they wanted to - which they dont!
By the way - how exactly did the British public profit from all the money that was raised from privatisation? It went to pay for tax cuts for the rich thats where it went (cos i certainly didnt see any of it!)

[Coobeastie]

As in most cases of these large companies (like petroleum companies) the fat cat shareholders tend to be uk pension funds.

[marshman]

I firmly believe that these utilities should not have been sold off from the beginning,neither should school playing grounds ect.
Of course one writer asks why they should not be sold off,my answer is simply that although one can live without gas or electric,they are considered essential to life today,plus life cannot exist without water,which should be used with respect but it should be free of charge to all.The water companies make enough profit from the waste water treatments but of course this would not sattisfy their director fat cats and shareholders,which are their first priority.Also none of these companies should be foreign owned.

[marshman]

If my memory serves me right,the water was owned locally by local or county councils,they were then "stolen"by central government who decided that they knew better,yes for many years the systems were underfunded due lack of investment but since they have been privatised,the promised investment from these "private"companies has been non existant,the amount of water which is wasted through leakages is still a huge scandal even though many many price rises have been allowed by the toothless regulators,supposedly to finance the poor interstructure.

[ianess]

Surely any company worth its salt budgets for the likes of inflation, depreciation, and maintenance/renewal costs?
Even after all of that, they then post profits which border on unbelievable obscenity, pay their shareholders and fat cats over-the-top bonuses........and then put prices through the roof. Good old Capitalism at work. Roll on the Revolution.

[ianess]

Before anyone starts bleating about a so-called water shortage, has anyone been to the Balearics or the Canaries on holiday and seen the amount of water used to sprinkle gardens via hosepipes and irrigation systems?
Their mains water doesn't have to be of drinking water quality.......why does ours?
As usual the rest of the UK will probably end up suffering because of what is basically a South-East of England problem.

[Hgrove]

I never agreed with privatisations in the first place, essential services are not safe in private, greedy money-making hands.