Privatisation of UK industries is driving cost of living crisis, says Greens' leader

"The privatisation of the UK's key industries is driving the cost of living crisis, damaging critical public services and making life harder for millions of people, the leader of the Green party, Zack Polanski, has said. Speaking after the Guardian revealed the British public have been paying a privatisation premium of 250 per household per year since 2010, he described the mass privatisation of UK industry as a failed experiment."

"This report shows that privatisation has been one of the key drivers of the cost-of-living crisis and growing inequality the Conservatives were the architects of this failed experiment, but the Labour government has done virtually nothing to change course. In his successful campaign to become Labour leader in 2020, Keir Starmer vowed to support common ownership of rail, mail, energy and water but has backtracked since coming into power, ruling out nationalisation of the big six energy companies, water or mail."

"But critics say this week's report which found 200bn had been paid to shareholders since the privatisation of key industries in the 1980s and 90s shows they must go further and faster to address poor services and rising bills and to tackle the climate emergency. The TUC's general secretary, Paul Nowak, said: We can't ask families to keep on footing the bill for decades of failed privatisation."

Privatisation of key UK industries has raised household costs and worsened public services while contributing to growing inequality. British households have paid a privatisation premium of 250 per household per year since 2010, and shareholders have received about 200bn since privatisations in the 1980s and 1990s. Some train operators and the national energy system operator have returned to public ownership and GB Energy was created, but nationalisation of major energy companies, water and mail has been ruled out. Critics call for accelerated re-nationalisation and large-scale insourcing to improve services, lower bills and address the climate emergency.

Read at www.theguardian.com