UK public has paid 200bn to shareholders of key industries since privatisation study

"The public has paid almost 200bn to the shareholders who own key British industries since they were privatised, research reveals. The transfer of tens of billions of pounds to the owners of the privatised water, rail, bus, energy and mail services comes as families face soaring bills, polluted rivers and seas, and expensive and unreliable trains and buses. As a result, citizens have been paying a privatisation premium of 250 per household per year since 2010 alone, the analysis found."

"Recent focus has been on the privatised water industry, which has run up long-term debts of 73bn and paid out dividends of 88.4bn in the past 34 years at the same time as overseeing record sewage spills, according to the latest figures. But for the first time the thinktank Common Wealth has drawn together the haemorrhaging of billions of pounds to shareholders across four key sectors, most of which were privatised from the 1980s and 1990s by Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government."

Privatisation of key British industries since the 1980s has resulted in at least £193bn paid out to shareholders, private equity funds and foreign holding companies across energy, transport, water and mail. Households have incurred a privatisation premium averaging £250 per household per year since 2010, contributing to soaring bills and reduced service quality. The water industry alone has accumulated £73bn in long-term debts while paying £88.4bn in dividends over 34 years amid record sewage spills. The privatized structure has produced corporate monopolies, inadequate investment and unreliable, expensive services for families while shareholders extract substantial dividends.

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