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| 1ST - 7TH MARCH 2019 | UTILITY WEEK
A UtilityWeek c ampaign
Analysis
R
enationalisation, like every other
domestic issue, may have been over-
shadowed by Brexit but Labour's
vision for a new way to run the water com-
panies of England and Wales remains very
much on its agenda.
In any other year, Westminster would
have given far more air time to the question
of public versus private ownership, which
if the opposition were to gain power would
herald the biggest shake-up of the water
industry in decades.
Nevertheless, the political waters have
been choppy enough since shadow chancel-
lor John McDonnell unveiled his renationali-
sation plans at Labour's party conference last
September, building on manifesto pledges to
bring key utilities – water, energy networks
and rail – back into public ownership.
Declaring that the water sector would be
the first to taste the "biggest extension of
economic democratic rights this country has
ever seen", far-reaching plans were revealed
for a new government-owned model run by
local councils, employees and customers.
The (future) shape of water
The political narrative around how water companies should operate
has come full circle – and continues to change. In the latest report
for our New Deal for Utilities campaign we look at some alternative
options for how water companies of the future might work.
Suzanne Heneghan reports.
JOIN THE DEBATE
Follow our campaign online:
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on our Twitter @Utility Week and on
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To share your thoughts or for more
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Other proposals about potential future
operating models, such as mutualisation,
are also gaining traction in some quarters,
widening the debate beyond the traditional
binary proposition of private versus public
ownership.
Meanwhile, in a new era of legitimacy
and transparency for utilities, existing pri-
vatised models are increasingly adapting.
South West Water, for example, has pro-
posed an element of mutual shareholding as
part of its wider ownership base.
This changing shape of water is buoyed
by what now seems a general acceptance
throughout industry that companies must
garner more public support, via a greater
openness and fairer sharing of rewards. It is
a key driver behind our New Deal for Utili-
ties campaign, exploring how policymakers
and regulators can work with companies to
help them forge a new social contract with
the public.
At the launch of our campaign at the
beginning of the year, a survey by Harris
Interactive commissioned by Utility Week
