![Campaigners at a demonstration to bring buses in West Yorkshire under public control, in front of a bus](https://weownit.org.uk/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Untitled%20design_5.png?itok=rI9wC7Bx)
17 July 2024
This morning, at the State Opening of Parliament, King Charles set out his government’s plans for the coming year. Among the 40 draft laws the King mentioned, we’ve picked out five brilliant new policies;and we’ve listed five policies that weren’t included, but should have been if the new Labour government is going to be bold and consistent in its approach to public ownership.
Five hits
The Better Buses Bill
- It’s fantastic news that Labour will give communities across the UK powers to take back control of buses. Under the last government we saw bus services decimated. In 2019 there were 1.5 billion fewer bus journeys than at privatisation in 1985. Since 2010 around 8000 bus routes have been cut. Making it quicker and easier for local leaders to bring buses into public control will have a positive impact on people’s quality of life, local communities and the economy.
- Ending the ideological ban on new publicly owned bus companies. The municipally owned bus companies which survived Thatcher’s deregulation and privatisation are very successful. For example, Reading Buses can invest an additional £3 million a year in the bus network (around 12-15% of its annual turnover) because it doesn't pay out dividends to private shareholders.
Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill, Rail Reform Bill
- Transferring all rail franchises to the public sector as they expire, and setting up Great British Railways. This policy begins the wholesale renationalisation of our railway that is long overdue. Public ownership of rail is the gold standard across the world, with the best railway system in Europe, in Switzerland, run in public hands. Public ownership will save us an estimated £1.5 billion a year from cutting out profits and fragmentation, which can be put toward cutting passenger fares by up to 18%.
Great British Energy Bill
- Setting up Great British Energy as a new renewable energy generation company in public ownership. We’ve been banging the drum about a move in this direction for two years: in 2022 we pointed out that 9 out of 10 of the countries leading the way in terms of green transition already have a publicly owned renewable energy company – and so the UK needs to do the same. State owned energy generation can speed up the green transition while creating jobs, boosting the economy and returning a profit right back to that country.
Employment Rights Bill
- This crystalises the commitments Labour made in its Plan To Make Work Pay: which, crucially for us, promises “the biggest wave of insourcing of public services in a generation”. The only way outsourcing can actually save money is by undermining workers. Public service staff - who are disproportionally women, people of colour and migrants - are doing important work and they should be treated fairly. Bringing services in house means workers have decent employment, terms and conditions, improving their lives and their morale.
Five policies that weren’t included, but should have been - we will keep campaigning for these!
- Substantial new funding for buses and rail to deliver better services. It’s vital that Labour gives councils the funding they need to invest in bus networks; without this, new local powers won’t deliver the change local communities are crying out for.
- Bringing the rolling stock into public ownership. Our trains, carriages and freight vehicles are currently owned by ten private equity-backed companies, which together tripled their profits to over £400 million last year. As we pointed out in February, taking the ROSCOs into public ownership will go a long way toward enabling Labour to make the investments in our railway that are needed to make it work for passengers.
- Bringing water companies into public ownership, starting with Thames Water. The chronic failure of the privatised water industry is well documented. Officials in the Treasury and the UK’s Debt Management Office have already stated that, unless the UK’s biggest water company is renationalised as soon as possible, “prolonged uncertainty” about its fate could “damage confidence in UK plc at a sensitive time”.
Labour's unwillingness to nationalise Thames Water doesn't stop the private sector pushing risk onto the public; in fact, failure to take Thames into local public ownership makes the taxpayer, the billpayer, and our environment more likely to bailout the existing shareholders.
- Buying back British Gas to deliver cheaper energy bills directly to households. Margaret Thatcher sold off British Gas in 1986. The government can and should use Great British Energy to buy back British Gas to sell energy directly to UK households. It would cost around £1 billion - just under 0.04% of the current national debt.
- Reinstating the NHS as a fully public service. It should be a no-brainer. Privatisation and cuts have brought our once world-beating health service to its knees. NHS spending on private or independent providers increased from £8.4 billion in 2013-14 to £13.8 billion in 2020-21. The UK has spent a total of £125 billion on non-NHS providers since 2012-13. Three quarters of the public want the NHS fully in public hands, and recent polling showed it was the policy area most people expected to hear about today; so it’s a huge missed opportunity for this not to be included in the King’s Speech.
We’ll keep pushing and campaigning to bring this new Labour government and public ownership closer together. Share this blog and show your support for services that work for people not profit.
![Campaigners at a demonstration to bring buses in West Yorkshire under public control, in front of a bus](https://weownit.org.uk/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/Untitled%20design_5.png?itok=rI9wC7Bx)
Comments
Ray Edwards replied on Permalink
The water companies need to fail. This would leave the debt with the shareholders and then we can buy it for a pound each
Keith Tytler replied on Permalink
What a splendid idea they have taken more than their entitlement
Paramjit Brar replied on Permalink
Why are paying the cost whilst shareholders and directors still take payments for giving a bad service? These companies and CEO’s are not even UK tax payers.
Lizzie replied on Permalink
Public services need to put people before profit and should be run with this ethos in mind
Jane Hobson replied on Permalink
Hear hear to all comments!
Dave Voisey replied on Permalink
The intention is to nationalise the railway passenger services. To bring costs down it will be necessary to take control of the train leasing companies. It would be interesting to see their profits.
I read elsewhwere; and I can not guarentee the accuracy; that leasing companies expect pay back in three years! Trains have a life of twenty to twenty five years.
Geraldine Pinchard replied on Permalink
Unfortunately my Pension provider is the second largest shareholder in Thames Water. I can't afford to lose my hard-earned pension.
David macpherson replied on Permalink
Not every thing has to be done for profit
Michele Martin replied on Permalink
Profiteering in healthcare means the rich get fleeced for unnecessary procedures & the poor don’t get the care they need. Removing private healthcare operators from our NHS means real care for all.
Deirdre Barry replied on Permalink
Access to water is a human right lets take the profiteering out of its delivery
Geoff Allen replied on Permalink
I endorse Ray Edwards reply 17th July, all utility services should be nationalised and run as a service for the good of the community and not a cash cow for the greedy incompetent management.
Yvonne Maria Lewis replied on Permalink
Anything that stops universal greed has to be a good thing...
Elizabeth Storey replied on Permalink
I also think that solar panels should not imported from China or any other country where there are allegations of modern slave labour - preferably made in the UK. Also I do not think the new government should enable landowners or corporate businesses to install solar farms on any farmland or green spaces - when they could be placed on the roofs of most buildings across the UK. Also I do not think we should be promoting the use of gas when alternatives such as heat pumps could be installed especially for all new builds - we should be following the UN's Human Rights and Sustainable Development Goals Agenda 2030 - not the greenwashing propaganda of businesses - there should also have been some mention of plastic pollution
M F McAndrew replied on Permalink
The water companies are failing us. Old broken pipes leaking water and water pollution not addressed
Terry Andrew Stevens replied on Permalink
That is nice to hear in the Kings speech that he is in favour to bring public transport (Buses & Trains) back under public control. Many routes in & around Bristol have been stopped/cut & giving reasons why people have gone back to using their cars. I belong to a group called 'Reclaim our Buses'. There are many new routes that can be brought back, re-routed or new 'useful' ones started that I know of, for different areas of the area.
Lorraine Bolger replied on Permalink
Its about time we got to all our big company’s back and say NO to privatisation .look after our own country not rich mans pockets
John White replied on Permalink
While Great British energy is welcome, its scope has been drastically reduced and is no longer adequate to its task. The very survival of the human species is at risk! The Secretary General of the United Nations, summarising scientific opinion, has said that action is required in the next five years, that is, in the lifetime of the new government. We Own It should welcome what little has been promised, but press for full restoration of the original plan.
cedric rowland replied on Permalink
I see on the back of lorries ( How is my driving ) I have never seen a sign ( How is my managing ) .
Matt Green replied on Permalink
Part of the reason this country is on its knees is because capitalism has gotten out of control. We need the fundamental resources to be run publicly, which will ensure its future survival and efficiency for generations to come.
Mike Dickins replied on Permalink
It would cost billions for the water companies to be brought back into public
Ownership. They should carry that cost in the first instance by upgrading the
existing network. The existing investors and senior management must be held
accountable in the form of taxation and penalties for underperformance with “locked pay “and controlled profit margins. The Public purse must not be used
to rescue this very costly “white elephant”. Our Government has been aware of
this mounting problem and debt for many years and has not taken any action!
Amanda Midgley replied on Permalink
I would like to see bus and train fare down because not everyone can afford to pay for bus or train tickets so please bring them down thank you
Alex replied on Permalink
'Better for bus passengers like you' made me chuckle. I'm a bus driver
John Taylor replied on Permalink
why should shareholders dividends increase when the water supply fails, and waste is released into the rivers.
David Wilson replied on Permalink
The Post office should also be added to the list of Water, etc.
Who ever heard of a national postal service been owned by overseas investors, and the buyer has the cheek to say he would probably keep the name "Royal Mail"
Even a country like the USA with its love of private companies has a state ownede postal service.
Pam Cooper replied on Permalink
Let’s not confuse The Post Office with Royal Mail. The Post Office is a government owned company with actual post offices run by companies or small
business franchises. Royal Mail was sold to International Delivery Services contracted to deliver Royal Mail, but find delivery of parcels more profitable and don’t much care about our letters, which are why they are often do late in coming . The company is run by an international equity company, whose largest shareholder is I think from either Rumania or within that region of Europe. He does indeed have great dividends, not particularly good about staff terms and conditions
,
Barbara Griffiths replied on Permalink
The water companies @ the NHS have wasted public monies so why should we pay to clean up our rivers & be forced to go private
. The railways need improving but not at the public expence
Marie Banner replied on Permalink
I’m glad the Labour government will be putting the train and bus services will be coming back to public ownership. However, I do think the fares on buses and trains should go down in price as people may not be able to pay for travel because of the cost of living crisis.
Ramatoollah Soo... replied on Permalink
I remember well the only way that the Tories became rich by selling all the silverware of the family.The iron lady fooled us all by saying that the commoners willjoin in buying shares in the public company and then it was privatise. Norman Tebbit was in charge of selling BRITISH TELECOM then he became an executive of british telecom with huge amount of shares pass on to him as an executive. That is the way the politicians makes their fortunes. Osbourne the chancellor sold the post office shares and all the big shark bought lot of shares and the we the commoners were only allowed to buy few hundred shares. So.the rich guys knows how to make a quick buck. It does not stop there . Every silverware that was sold, the tories made a fortune.
Christina Aitken replied on Permalink
As an ex medical pa for the NHS, I know first hand the NHS managers bully and destroy those good workers and profit is being made out of the NHS in the background. I was medically retired having suffered a breakdown and nearly a second, my GP confirmed what I believed and know, management are one of the main issues, GET RID OF THEM , THEY DONT CARE ABOUT PATIENTS OR STAFF WHO DO CARE.
Muriel Moore replied on Permalink
Public ownership should overcome vast pay-outs to management.
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