Oxford City Council is calling for the water service to be advertised again. ‘Privatization was a legal scam’

The city council of Oxford, an English town of 152,000, has voted unanimously to demand that the water service become public again. Advisor Chris Jarvis He explained that “privatization was a failed experiment” that turned out to be an experiment “legal scam”. Jarvis he added: “We have seen billions of pounds wasted in the face of a complete lack of investment in infrastructure maintenance, all combined with Skyrocketing bills. It is becoming increasingly clear that this is a legal scam, which exists only for the benefit of the shareholders, At the expense of people and the planet“, the consultant continued. Colleague Louis Muddiman And remember how flooded Thames Water (the company that runs the service) last year Unfiltered waste water In rivers around Oxford and beyond 5 thousand Occasions. The counsel also noted that the company had been ordered to repay users £50m for incompetence, the highest amount among similar judgments handed down in Great Britain.

A Thames Water spokesperson responded that the company was “committed to protecting the environment and ensuring customer service” stating that shareholders had not received a dividend for 5 years. In general, privatization of water services applied in England Starting in 1989 by decision of the government Margaret Thatcher At the heart of criticism and second thoughts. The nine largest companies that run the services have accumulated debt To pay dividends to shareholders (66 billion pounds at the end of 2022) and the cost of liabilities is passed on to billers and users in the face of an often inefficient service. The English newspaper guardian hRecently revealed as 70% of the shares of these companies are owned by international investment funds, Private equity, banks, not infrequently through their resident companies tax havens.