It’s insane. The water is owned by private companies, who give thier executives super bonuses, despite the fact they pump raw sewage into the rivers. And then increase prices.
The government refuses to do anything.
Musicman1972 on
Why the hell is a water utility boss being paid over £500k a year?
People need water. The utility supplies it. Or doesn’t in their case it seems…
fiendishrabbit on
Never ever trust a private company to handle what’s basically a natural monopoly.
WhatsRatingsPrecious on
A utility should not be run for profit.
Earl0fYork on
The privatisation of water companies continues to be a mistake of gargantuan proportions.
Razkaii on
Surprised they haven’t sold the rights Oxygen to a private company yet in all honesty
ReginaldJohnston on
This is from Thatcherite economics where everything that runs the state- utilities, infrastructure, public transport, institutions- was sold off to private equity.
Now our entire structure of society is owned by foreign shareholders. A teacher’s union in the US. A hedge fund in Japan. A number of off-shore accounts laundering black cash from St. Petersburg syndicate.
And if the water company doesn’t meet the targets, say because of Putin’s gas pipeline across Europe, then the company cuts corners to pay shareholders investment by pumping our turds in the water system.
But hey. At least they give a sh1t.
Wadarkhu on
Profits for UK water companies went up 82% between 2018/2019 and 2022/2023.
Fucking why? It should be illegal to have profits on something as basic as water. I have the same feelings about electricity too honestly. Basic necessities should never be profited from.
At the same time they’re somehow 60 billion in debt. They can do that because we’re all ~~held hostage by~~ guaranteed customers to them. They’re not at risk so they can keep this messed up method going.
If only we had the political will to mass protest via everyone refusing to pay the bill until it’s turned into a public government owned utility (and without the debt, by the way, just confiscate it from the idiots running it, leave them with the mess they made.)
toddhoward420 on
Ah don’t worry, their profits are going to… trickle down… eventually
maxmarioxx_ on
United Utilities increased their profits from £126 million in 2024 to £264 million in 2025. They increased their prices by 67% in the last 3 years.
Spudsmad on
Ignore the detail of the dividend payments to shareholders from loans so the interest is tax deductible .
The water supply infrastructure requires investment to update, so when that is complete, the efficiency savings etc, should mean that thereafter All WATER BILLS DHOULD BE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED .
Perhaps the management of these “ chiselling businesses “ can confirm this will happen .
Roo1996 on
They were going to bring in water bills here in Ireland a few years back but the protests against it were so big that there was no choice for the government but to scrap the idea
13 commenti
It’s insane. The water is owned by private companies, who give thier executives super bonuses, despite the fact they pump raw sewage into the rivers. And then increase prices.
The government refuses to do anything.
Why the hell is a water utility boss being paid over £500k a year?
People need water. The utility supplies it. Or doesn’t in their case it seems…
Never ever trust a private company to handle what’s basically a natural monopoly.
A utility should not be run for profit.
The privatisation of water companies continues to be a mistake of gargantuan proportions.
Surprised they haven’t sold the rights Oxygen to a private company yet in all honesty
This is from Thatcherite economics where everything that runs the state- utilities, infrastructure, public transport, institutions- was sold off to private equity.
Now our entire structure of society is owned by foreign shareholders. A teacher’s union in the US. A hedge fund in Japan. A number of off-shore accounts laundering black cash from St. Petersburg syndicate.
And if the water company doesn’t meet the targets, say because of Putin’s gas pipeline across Europe, then the company cuts corners to pay shareholders investment by pumping our turds in the water system.
But hey. At least they give a sh1t.
Profits for UK water companies went up 82% between 2018/2019 and 2022/2023.
Fucking why? It should be illegal to have profits on something as basic as water. I have the same feelings about electricity too honestly. Basic necessities should never be profited from.
At the same time they’re somehow 60 billion in debt. They can do that because we’re all ~~held hostage by~~ guaranteed customers to them. They’re not at risk so they can keep this messed up method going.
If only we had the political will to mass protest via everyone refusing to pay the bill until it’s turned into a public government owned utility (and without the debt, by the way, just confiscate it from the idiots running it, leave them with the mess they made.)
Ah don’t worry, their profits are going to… trickle down… eventually
United Utilities increased their profits from £126 million in 2024 to £264 million in 2025. They increased their prices by 67% in the last 3 years.
Ignore the detail of the dividend payments to shareholders from loans so the interest is tax deductible .
The water supply infrastructure requires investment to update, so when that is complete, the efficiency savings etc, should mean that thereafter All WATER BILLS DHOULD BE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED .
Perhaps the management of these “ chiselling businesses “ can confirm this will happen .
They were going to bring in water bills here in Ireland a few years back but the protests against it were so big that there was no choice for the government but to scrap the idea
Ours has gone down & it’s got me worried.