Water company supplying millions of Britons could collapse - BBC Newsnight

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Thames Water, which leaks more water than any other water company in the UK - equivalent to up to 250 Olympic-sized swimming pools every day - is now in danger of financial collapse.
Its chief executive resigned unexpectedly on Tuesday and the UK government said it was ready to act in the worse case scenario that Thames Water does go under.
So what has gone wrong with the company that supplies water to a quarter of the UK's population?
And what does this tell us about the privatisation of the English and Welsh water sector that took place over three decades ago?
Newsnight’s Economics Editor Ben Chu explains.
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Опубликовано:

28 июн 2023

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Комментарии : 132

@Jen-Yueh_Hu 10 месяцев назад

This is why you must prevent the NHS from being privatised at all cost.

@peterjames6620 10 месяцев назад

It's already underway unfortunately, Jen-Yueh_Hu. It's being privatised very slowly and stealthily, bit by bit. I'm sure lots of it is perfectly sensible and a good way to cut the terrible wastage of such a large organisation, but one day it will end up like the US where a 'wallet biopsy' is usually the first step in the treatment.

@KayAteChef 10 месяцев назад

At... ALL costs?

@muckraker7942 10 месяцев назад

@@peterjames6620Well except if you have insurance which is all smart people. The dummies are the ones interviewed by BBC as propaganda to bolster the wonders of the NHS system where you wait an hour for an ambulance and consultants have zero responsibility for their negligence.

@TheEmmaLucille 10 месяцев назад

The GOAL of a private company is NOT to SERVE the clients it's to make money and GIVE IT to shareholders.

@kevoreilly6557 10 месяцев назад

Yes it is; not borrow that money (60bn) than give it (66bn) to shareholders

@francesholdsworth571 22 дня назад

yea and they go playing golf ? makes you think dont it

@Ass_of_Amalek 10 месяцев назад

when you privatise utilities for profit, citizens end up getting robbed because the utility companies can provide inferior service for inflated prices and people still have to buy? who would have thunk it? 😮

@sebastianguerre6868 10 месяцев назад

I'm no socialist but allowing water companies to borrow against their assets and then give that money to shareholders might not have been a very good idea. Now they have huge debts with high interest rates and no money to maintain the system. What a mess.

@joedowning2428 10 месяцев назад

The whole system has been a mess since the 70s

@thisismetoday 10 месяцев назад

The chief executive just resigns instead of fixing the mess she created?????? Seriously!

@stephenjones8928 10 месяцев назад

I've been told that you have to pay executives top dollar in order to get the best talent. Doesn't seem to work out that way 80% of the time.

@heli398 10 месяцев назад

Who thought private provision of public good is bad? Basic economics...

@public.public 10 месяцев назад

When it was nationalised it belonged to ALL of us because we were ALL shareholders.

@Ass_of_Amalek 10 месяцев назад

those £72 bn in profits very simply are the total amount of money that the british public has overpaid for the inferior services provided by the private water utilities.

@embreis2257 10 месяцев назад

a country privatising essential public service sectors needs to learn an important lesson. both the voters for those governments and the politicians promoting this idea deserve no pity. it always was utter madness. the question is: will the UK reverse course?

@thisismetoday 10 месяцев назад

Is there anything in England that has not been completely run into the ground?

@richard7645 10 месяцев назад

Miss this country so much the happiness we had, and the freedoms . Just wow

@vapeymcvape5000 10 месяцев назад

Another nail in the legacy of Margaret Thatcher.

@sebastianguerre6868 10 месяцев назад

There's nothing wrong with privatisation. The problem here is that the water companies have effectively sold all their assets and shared the money out with the shareholders. Now they have huge debts to service. Lack of regulation under all the three major parties when they were in power.

@stuartrichardson6928 10 месяцев назад

@@sebastianguerre6868 so there is something wrong with privatisation then and you’ve just said it lol.

@sebastianguerre6868 10 месяцев назад

@@stuartrichardson6928 no the water companies were crap before privatisation and so was British Rail. The outdated Victorian sewers have been there since the Victorian age. We've had Conservative, Labour and Liberal governments since then.

@richard7645 10 месяцев назад

This political party is insane, you voted them In

@stuartrichardson6928 10 месяцев назад

@@sebastianguerre6868 so they were crap before privatisation . All privatisation achieved was to bolster “mainly foreign “ pension funds... I think with hind sight, crap but cheap publicly owned was better. Yes we have had many changes of government since but you forget that we were in the EU. The treaty of Rome forbid state aid. It was Thatchers baby, just like our sold off and never replaced housing stock!

@louischamoun7072 10 месяцев назад

Nationalise it ASAP

@101yayo 10 месяцев назад

Make the shareholders pay the debt.

@cinemaipswich4636 10 месяцев назад

Geographic Monopolies will always charge whatever they like, unincumbered by regulation. This is a classic case of "Privatise the Profits, and Socialise the Losses". They sell all the assets and give them to shareholders, and leave nothing but a shell full of debt.

@zapfanzapfan 10 месяцев назад

So, debt incurred is the same as the "profit" handed out... re-nationalize for the price of taking over the debt and no more.

@kevoreilly6557 10 месяцев назад

“Water in Wales is provided by a not for profit operator” …. Pretty certain the “water” in wales comes from exactly the same place as the water in England …

@portman8909 10 месяцев назад

Yet another failure from Thatcher. This and the decision to block FTTP broadband rollout is shameful.

@Hadrian363 10 месяцев назад

Wow shock, who would have thought private companies would pump sewage into our waterways and collapse due to unsound business practices. Love the way this country is treated like a purse for private companies and the Tories facilitate this managed decline happily

@underarmbowlingincidentof1981 10 месяцев назад

I'm a big capitalism fan but even I have to agree a bit of socialism and government control is needed, otherwise its pure chaos.

@CRMcGee2 10 месяцев назад

Everything does not need to be a business! For the public good is reasonable; the actual workers make a living wage. No dividends need be paid, that's more money to invest in the system.

@emilymorley3655 10 месяцев назад

How can one privatise water which is a basic human right such as the air we breathe?

@XMicroBio 10 месяцев назад

Scavengers lining their own pockets. Shareholders are liable for the dept.

@shazzaworks1720 10 месяцев назад

A not for profit organisation that pays its managers hundreds of thousands each year in bonuses alone! Water is as necessary as air and should be provided free !

@patlecat 10 месяцев назад

That's why you don't privatize critical infrastructure. Have the British not learned from the railways disaster?

@greenknitter 10 месяцев назад

Thank god we never privatised our water services here in Ireland. Water is a human right for ALL and not something to enrich shareholders

@Wodens-Wolf 10 месяцев назад

Vital services should be in the hands of government not companies especially foreign ones.

@raquetdude 10 месяцев назад

“Shareholder democracy” maybe democratic ownership of assets that are needed for human life? Like co-operative ownership or nationalisation to the government or regions.

@alvydasjokubauskas2587 10 месяцев назад

Paying dividents is priority number 1 in any company. Water doesn;t make much money, so instead they sell the company to banks for loans and pay dividends, they cannot fail beacause the goverment is interested to save them in crisis. So this becomes a nice scheme to take out tax money for free. Later they are forced to increase prices, thus creating double hostage situation. Until in the end all loans are forgiven and the company is nationalized once more again, later the cycle repeats in next generation. People life is short and memory is even shorter..

@penguthepenguinj 10 месяцев назад

Water and energy needs to be all publicly owned, it will be cheaper in both running cost and bills. At the end of the day whatever company you pick it will all come from the same pipe / cable. I understand why broadband isn’t publicly owned as it has reasonable infrastructure competition, innovation in speeds means it is rapidly changing

@salamanco968 10 месяцев назад

Britain, please explain???????

@KayAteChef 10 месяцев назад

What would happen if these companies went broke? Someone else would get the cheap assets and continue to operate the system without any debt. Whoever took that debt on would be the loser. There is absolutely no requirement for the Government to take on this debt. Just buy the assets back off the liquidator and use emergency powers to operate it in the interim.

@Martin_Priesthood 10 месяцев назад

Water companies being listed on the stock exchange is a bad joke. 😭😭

@raquetdude 10 месяцев назад

What other nations have privatised their water again??

@Ass_of_Amalek 10 месяцев назад

the guy says it in the video, it's none.

@ellybell8356 10 месяцев назад

Wrong! In whole europe everyone has to pay for water. They have even readers in every room with a faucet/loo...so not even one drop goes uncounted. Vattenfall own the majority of water supplies in europe.

@Ass_of_Amalek 10 месяцев назад

@@ellybell8356 water being metered and paid for doesn't mean that it's privatised. water meters are not installed in every room with running water, they are installed at the grid connection of buildings, and at points of subdivision between parts of buildings owned or rented by different people. and no, vattenfall doesn't deal in water, they deal in energy.

@SCP--ck5ip 10 месяцев назад

We privatise the NHS and the poor pay the price just like water

@benhaynes092 10 месяцев назад

Paying for water services which the water at my mum's house is disgusting !!! Hard lime scale and it even smells when it comes out the taps!!! We have been drinking bottle water!!

@auro1986 10 месяцев назад

then in 89 bbc showed you today in 21st century you will be crying

@1TimBaugh 10 месяцев назад

Privatisation; Legalisation and governmental support of greed in the form of making the profit motive the governing principle, Placing important services in the hands of a much less accountable, sometimes hard to identify, wealthy elite, Deregulation to sweeten the pot for private investors Sidelining of working for the public good with public services, What could possibly go wrong?

@I_Trade_Negative_RR 10 месяцев назад

It’s all cool we’ll all pay this back with our taxes . As each day goes on I hate this fallen broken country more and more.

@francesholdsworth571 22 дня назад

might be a good idea to stop watering all golf clubs ranges save it for drinking which is life and death,prioratise

@superyura6457 10 месяцев назад

I promise you if the government had a way to privatise oxygen they would, like seriously isnt the government supposed to help its citizens not act like an incompetent business??

@daviestewart1725 10 месяцев назад

14 billion! They have managed to steal a nice round number. They all must have very large houses and expensive cars.

@carolynwheaton9884 10 месяцев назад

In old days only one phone company AT&T.

@kristoforlearmonth4939 10 месяцев назад

They already have!

@DaveGC-cy7cz 9 дней назад

You don’t need to be a genius to work that one out! The owners and shareholders will cut and run, taking evrything they can get their greedy seats little hands on

@lawrencenoctor2703 10 месяцев назад

Renationalise without compensation.

@ohausfranswa 10 месяцев назад

When idiots rule. Money was more important than maintenance. And you are seeing that proof. Time to sue the owners and SHAREHOLDERS. They own it. Make them pay for it.

@TheCommunicationCoach 10 месяцев назад

That would be awful! More hothouse world changes! My prayers for everyone without fresh water!

@russferris9149 10 месяцев назад

nationalise it. privatisation isn't working in the water companies and I'm a Tory

@hotelcartelradio 10 месяцев назад

E.U. ? E.U.logy for those outside of it.

@ler3968 10 месяцев назад

What a disaster for water supplies this could affect the supply of Guinness, Heineken, and others for my mates. The country defeated and survived the blitz but cannot without its 2-3 pints p/day. Cheers however the US has millions of cases of unsold Bud Lite it can ship over☺

@tonyb9560 10 месяцев назад

Thatchers legacy is misery for millions and joy for the mega rich.

@thisismetoday 10 месяцев назад

How did they get 14bn of debt??

@hanselmansell7555 10 месяцев назад

I so love the Tories, such safe hands, who wants to go swimming anyway? Just as long as those poor shareholders are ok you can take all my money, well done everyone!! 💞

@alexwatson5507 10 месяцев назад

Wait til Labour are in charge 😂😂😂😂 you mugs don't know what's coming.

@amenhotepthethird209 10 месяцев назад

Scandalous. Get a water meter fitted (free) , you'll probably save a fortune, like I did.

@ayoolukoga9829 10 месяцев назад

O God, thou art My God; early will I seek thee: My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee In a dry and thirsty land, where no water is. Psalm 63:1

@eligebrown8998 10 месяцев назад

In the United States city's have and run their own water and sewer. If it's outside the city then you need to drill a water well wich is 10xs better then city water. And must have septic tank put in for sewer usage.

@uzayinsan 10 месяцев назад

3d stereo tv -это так ПРОСТО-всего вместо одной Нd видеокамеры-используется 2видеокамеры-цифровые hd-затем даётся сигнал в ждый глаз очков🤓👍🇮🇱🇺🇦🇦🇿🇪🇷🇹🇷

@juliancoulden1753 10 месяцев назад

The tax payer foots the bill either way. If the water companies are nationalised, the investment has to come from the tax payer. Will this be sufficient with so many other services competing for public funding?The cake is only so large, unless it gets bigger, which means more tax.

@briaredpath9386 10 месяцев назад

Watch the water - Q

@nonprofet 10 месяцев назад

sys-thame-atic destruction

@NoWindNoSunNoPower 10 месяцев назад

Ah. Thames Water whose area covers just 5% of Britain. They supply water to 20%+ of people in Britain. How did that happen?

@lw1zfog 10 месяцев назад

you.are.still.being.played.

@esthermalone2318 10 месяцев назад

SHOULD BE FREE 💯 💧

@Spaceman-jk5fb 10 месяцев назад

Never run out of money 🤑

@elenamonteagudo9855 10 месяцев назад

Corruption 🎉

@haruhisuzumiya6650 8 месяцев назад

Please by all means, collapse😁 it was a mistake to privatize everything

@blitz8702 10 месяцев назад

i could imagine this to happen in greece but in england it is hard to imagine no more showers 😁

@dennistate5953 10 месяцев назад

Wealth transfer writ with the stuff of life. National and special interests; squeeze worth the squirt yet? Quirt can bring a squeeze also. Teach your children well. 😢😮❤

@puggleski6097 10 месяцев назад

Regulatory regime and shareholder democracy 😂😂😂 tinpot dictatorships are run better and with more cognizance of their citizens' ire. This is grand theft hydro. No words.

@Wodens-Wolf 10 месяцев назад

Because Britain is overpopulated, with no or little new infrastructure being built to cater for the artificially inflated numbers of people in Britain party due to immigration both legal and illegal.

@Mizzkan 10 месяцев назад

Tax payer will bail it out silly BBC.

@TheMadara05 10 месяцев назад

Britain should more send money and weapons to Ukraine and not worried about water bills

@liamp.8826 10 месяцев назад

WEF is very happy about this! ⬇️

@liamp.8826 10 месяцев назад

That's their plan! ⬇️

@liamp.8826 10 месяцев назад

To turn first world countries into third world countries! ⬇️

@liamp.8826 10 месяцев назад

and they're succeeding thanks to ⬇️

@liamp.8826 10 месяцев назад

Corrupt ⬇️

@liamp.8826 10 месяцев назад

Politicians on the left!

@Asian34 10 месяцев назад

The richest place can save itself, not to take the government's funds. London takes all the advantages most of the time. Such as lots of huge infrastructure，but NE people just humble wish a bigger swimming pool or a library . When government proposed to decrease children education fund, in London every child reduce £5， in Durham every child reduce £20.

@georgeyboy8186 10 месяцев назад

Londoners have the luxury of higher salaries, increased opportunities etc, even minimum wage is higher in London. If you don't like it stop voting for khan

@hoppes979 10 месяцев назад

Crony capitalism at its best 😊

@alexwatson5507 10 месяцев назад

Con men

@hayzee4429 9 месяцев назад

English not British. Can you please start stating that Dcottish and Welsh are not private.

@Trevtron24 2 дня назад

Government needs to nationalise water companies so all profit is rolled back into the company along with all our other utilities, too many shareholders and foreign owners taking the money from us. Vote REFORM PARTY the only way to get our country back to being Great again as Tories and Labour are all for themselves People of Britain fight for your country 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧