Andy Burnham tells Mirror readers: ‘I’ll tear down Thatcher’s legacy and put Britain again accountable for fundamentals’
EXCLUSIVE: Andy Burnham writes for The Mirror: ‘I will build a country run in the public interest with power in every postcode, and we will begin with what matters most’
Britain’s water industry is a leaking monument to everything that went wrong with privatisation. People lost control of their bills. Britain lost control of one of the essentials in life.
Just look at the state of water in England right now. Private monopolies loaded with debt, paying out billions in dividends and failing to invest. Meanwhile, bills go up, pipes leak and our rivers and seas have been turned into open sewers. It is a national scandal.
For me, nothing shows more clearly what has gone wrong in our country than water. It is failing households. It is failing businesses. The whole thing stinks. And I will not tolerate any longer a system where the public always loses.
Enough is enough. Today, at Labour Party conference, I announced that we will bring in new laws that will allow us to take back control of water and put it back where it belongs: in the hands of the British people. Mayors will be able to hold water companies to account. Greedy bonuses will be stopped. Loopholes used to get round the rules will be shut. And companies that do not get their act together will face tougher consequences for failure.
Thatcher banned the government from owning water companies. I will tear down that barrier. This new settlement for water will work on a very simple principle. Where private companies serve the public interest, we will work with them. Where they do not, we will take greater public control.
That means hope that bills can be affordable. Hope that investment in infrastructure can rise. Hope that our children can swim in rivers and seas that are clean, not clogged with filth. That is a Britain back in control of the basics.
After a decade of drift and division, today, I set out a clear path for Britain. A country run in the public interest with power in every postcode. We begin with what matters most.
Water, housing, energy and transport are the essentials of everyday life and the everyday economy. We rely on them. We pay for them. And we should have more power over them. This is how we give Britain hope again.
