{"id":10424,"date":"2026-04-09T15:54:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T15:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/10424\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T15:54:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T15:54:10","slug":"broken-britain-the-water-industry-mafia-are-ripping-us-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/10424\/","title":{"rendered":"Broken Britain: The water industry mafia are ripping us off"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"IDOM
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\u2018Dirty Business\u2019 exposes the water industry mafia<\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t seen Dirty Business<\/a>, go and watch it, because it is excellent! Channel 4\u2019s dramatisation of the shitshow that Thatcher\u2019s privatisations brought to the UKs water system is heartbreaking and infuriating in equal measures.<\/p>\n

Eight year-old Heather Preen tragically died of an E. Coli infection caused by an unreported sewage spill on a blue-flag beach in Devon in 1999.<\/p>\n

Fast forward 15 years, and such spillages were turned into a business model, thanks to the \u2018self-regulation\u2019 of the industry brought to us by Thatcher\u2019s successors, David Cameron and Liz Truss.<\/p>\n

The series follows two retirees as they investigate water companies, and the corruption taking place at the Environment Agency in the name of capitalist efficiency. The scale of damage, and the complete impunity, are hard to fathom.<\/p>\n

One illegal spill \u2013 narrowly-defined as leaking untreated sewage \u2013 is punishable by five years in prison. For such crimes in 2024 alone, CEOs should face over two million years behind bars.<\/p>\n

The show aptly describes this as organised crime, though they qualify the comparison: \u201cThey\u2019re not killing people, they are not assassins\u201d.<\/p>\n

I beg to differ: they may not pull a trigger, but their poisoned water is causing chronic, often life-changing and lethal disease \u2013 they should be charged with manslaughter, at the very least.<\/p>\n

Instead, after buying off the regulator for years, companies like Thames Water are asking for a 15-year \u2018holiday\u2019 from regulations! They beg for a \u00a33 billion bailout to pay their former owner-turned-lender Macquarie Bank, whilst paying out millions to shareholders.<\/p>\n

Yorkshire Water \u2013 fined \u00a340 million last year for their 69,000 spills in 2024 \u2013 are, like many other companies, increasing their bills, citing costs of \u00a38 billion to prop up the infrastructure that they let fall into disrepair.<\/p>\n

Why should we pay any bills to these criminals? It\u2019s time we nationalised all utilities under workers\u2019 control. And for every cry for compensation \u2013 add another year of prison time!<\/p>\n

Elena Simon, Sheffield<\/p>\n

South East Water\u2019s spiralling debt crisis<\/p>\n

In January, South East Water (SEW) left 30,000 homes with low water supply<\/a> in towns across Sussex and Surrey. Several schools had to close, and residents relied on bottled water stations to get supplies.<\/p>\n

SEW has a shameful history of similar incidents. In December 2025, 16,000 homes suffered a water outage for almost a week due to potential contamination, and were subject to a nine-day \u2018boil water notice\u2019 after supplies returned.<\/p>\n

These incidents are no surprise given the neglected state of infrastructure. Old pipes that can\u2019t handle the summer highs and winter lows aren\u2019t repaired or replaced.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no mystery why: SEW is currently making year-on-year losses, and sitting on a massive \u00a31.3 billion pile of debt.<\/p>\n

It has loaned hundreds of millions from its own shareholders \u2013 shareholders who then line their own pockets with ten percent interest repayments!<\/p>\n

Last year, SEW paid out \u00a377 million on repayments like these. This amounts to a quarter of customers\u2019 bills going not towards improving infrastructure, but servicing debts.<\/p>\n

The government is introducing a new water regulator, but it will not be able to overcome this fundamental issue: that the shareholders call the shots, and that the water companies must keep degrading the service to provide them with decent returns.<\/p>\n

A regulator can impose fines to punish the worst and most scandalous excesses, but they cannot compel investment into new infrastructure \u2013 and no amount of fines can address the spiralling debt dragging these water companies into the abyss!<\/p>\n

BA, Brighton<\/p>\n

Britain\u2019s roads: A \u201cnational disgrace\u201d<\/p>\n

Britain\u2019s roads are one topic guaranteed to get a reaction in any workplace \u2013 and not a good one.<\/p>\n

Every year, the road surfacing industry publishes the ALARM report<\/a>: a survey of local councils measuring the state of our roads and the cost to fix them. This year\u2019s findings are the worst on record.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The bill to bring local roads up to a decent standard has hit \u00a318.6 billion, up 11 percent on last year. Just half the road network is in good condition. Over 32,000 miles of road have fewer than five years left before they fail completely.<\/p>\n

Councils resurface roads, on average, once every 97 years. The industry\u2019s own chairman called it a \u201cnational disgrace\u201d.<\/p>\n

For working people, it\u2019s a blown tire on the way to work. An expensive repair bill. A nasty cycling accident.<\/p>\n

Councils filled 1.9 million potholes last year \u2013 more than 5,000 every single day \u2013 and conditions still haven\u2019t improved.<\/p>\n

The cause is straightforward: years of cuts. Councils are responsible for maintaining local roads, but the government has starved them of money since 2010. Ministers have now committed \u00a37 billion over the next four years \u2013 less than half the \u00a318.6 billion needed just to clear the current backlog, let alone keep up with ongoing wear.<\/p>\n

It is time to stop asking working people to dodge potholes, and start presenting the bill to those who created them: the billionaires and bankers.<\/p>\n

Luca Ferrara, Norwich<\/p>\n

Oil crisis spills into countryside<\/p>\n

The conflict in the Middle East has thrown global oil markets into turmoil<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Most people experience this as rising petrol prices.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s a different experience for the 1.7 million British households that are not connected to the gas grid, which rely instead on heating oil stored in domestic tanks. These are overwhelmingly rural homes, where there is no alternative infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Unlike mains gas and electricity, this fuel is not covered by a price cap and must be purchased in bulk deliveries. When global oil prices spike, these households feel the impact immediately.<\/p>\n

Many suppliers have begun restricting deliveries due to supply volatility. This has triggered a wave of panic buying<\/a>, as households rush to fill their tanks before the next increase.<\/p>\n

But the pressure doesn\u2019t stop at the household level.<\/p>\n

Between global oil markets and domestic customers sits a chain of wholesalers, distributors and delivery firms. Many of these are small, family-run businesses operating on tight margins. In stable conditions, they make modest returns. In volatile markets, they face serious risk.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

If they sell fuel too cheaply, they may not be able to replace it at the higher wholesale price. If they raise prices too quickly, they risk losing customers, or being accused of profiteering.<\/p>\n

In these conditions, some distributors have begun refusing new orders altogether rather than gambling on rapid price swings.<\/p>\n

This is how global crises actually unfold under capitalism. Decisions made at the level of war and geopolitics ripple through supply chains until they land on ordinary people.<\/p>\n

Tin Shan, Birmingham<\/p>\n

Present arms\u2026 Anyone?<\/p>\n

The army is running \u2018Project Grayburn\u2019<\/a>: selecting a new rifle for its ever-shrinking pool of willing recruits. The Grayburn hopes to replace the L85, best described by its nickname of \u2018the civil servant\u2019 \u2013 it didn\u2019t work, and you couldn\u2019t fire it.<\/p>\n

The L85 was adopted during the death throes of British industry in the 1980s. The Enfield factory, where the weapons were produced, was privatised in \u201884 and closed in \u201888.<\/p>\n

The lack of investment in production led to serious issues with the L85 (a later report found more than fifty problems), but the soon-to-be-fired workers weren\u2019t in any mood to fix them. Exports were basically nil, and soldiers had little faith in the weapon.<\/p>\n

With the Grayburn rifle \u2013 specifics of calibre, colour, and flavour aside \u2013 the key requirement is that it must be made in Britain.<\/p>\n

But the industry isn\u2019t here. Setting up a factory to deliver the 170,000 rifle contract would require huge capital investment.<\/p>\n

\"Crisis<\/p>\n

Nobody\u2019s biting very enthusiastically. A factory in broken Britain won\u2019t be profitable on the world market, compared with the likes of the US, Russia, China, or Israel.<\/p>\n

Starmer could try throwing more money at these manufacturers to cajole them into supplying the meagre British army<\/a>. But how would he fund this? With more cuts to welfare and stealing from ordinary workers.<\/p>\n

Armed with rifles or broken bottles, workers will rise up to defeat those who have looted this country for all it was worth.<\/p>\n

Lexi Sharratt, Sheffield<\/p>\n

Expensive, slow, and late: All aboard Glasgow\u2019s private buses!<\/p>\n

It was recently reported that Glasgow\u2019s First Bus services<\/a> are the most expensive in the UK. A day ticket costs \u00a36.30 for inner city routes and a whopping \u00a38.30 for those travelling from the greater Glasgow area \u2013 up 20 percent in one year.<\/p>\n

Margret Thatcher once remarked that \u201ca man who, beyond the age of 26, finds himself on a bus can count himself a failure\u201d.<\/p>\n

In 2026, even with the small fortune the average Glasgow worker has to spend on travel, they\u2019d count themselves lucky to find themselves on a bus in the first place!<\/p>\n

In Glasgow, if a bus shows up five minutes late, it\u2019s considered early. Bus delays of ten or even twenty minutes are extremely common. Bus coverage is so poor there are large parts of Glasgow virtually inaccessible via public transport. For the fifth largest city in the UK, this is dire.<\/p>\n

This is all due to the privatised nature of First Bus. Develop bus infrastructure and hire more staff? No, the bosses at First Bus would rather enrich themselves \u2013 reporting annual profits of \u00a396 million in 2025 \u2013 than give a quality service to Glaswegian workers who rely on the service.<\/p>\n

If these services were nationalised \u2013 and the drivers and the depot workers were in control of their own workplaces \u2013 we could easily eliminate the colossal journey costs, long waiting times, and poor coverage plagueing Glasgow\u2019s bus routes.<\/p>\n

Charlie Edwards, Glasgow<\/p>\n

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