24 Sep 2026
We are calling on Andy Burnham to deliver public ownership, not just public control
In our new report "How and why Andy Burnham should deliver public ownership", we argue that the Prime Minister can and should take back assets for the British public by allowing failing private companies to go bust.
The government says it is looking at insolvency laws in the context of collapsing Thames Water. We are urging the government to use special administration to take back privatised monopolies including the other private water companies, energy network companies, and Royal Mail.
We want the government to expand the regime and provide a public sector default option for services like social care, instead of tiptoeing around private equity companies seen as too big to fail.
Andy Burnham has said he wants to reverse Thatcher’s 40 year legacy of privatisation. Now is the time for him to seize the moment.
People want public ownership, not just public control - which really just means more regulation when it comes to water and energy. No dodging of the issue, no compromise. Ownership is key. If we don't own the asset, we don't get the benefit of revenue streams from bills and we don't really have control.
This is about Thames Water yes, but it’s also about all of the failing privatised water companies, our spiralling energy bills, a Royal Mail that can’t deliver, privatisation in the NHS, care for older people and vulnerable children being exploited by private equity.
Burnham can win over voters across the political spectrum - from Reform UK to the Green Party - by delivering public ownership. But to achieve that he has to pick a fight with the shareholders and creditors around the world who are trying to squeeze households here while delivering a shoddy service.
This fight will make him more popular with everyone except the vested interests who have been ripping us off. He must take it on and use the law to defend common sense.
If private companies providing our public services are failing, don’t give them an easy ride. Force them to deliver and if they go bust, take them back.
Andy Burnham is reportedly considering a plan to create regional water boards, led by mayors, to oversee water companies. Some Labour MPs have called the proposal “worse than useless” unless it includes full public ownership.
In our report we argue that real public ownership must pass five key tests, including all profits being reinvested, 100% ownership by local elected authorities and borrowing at cheaper government interest rates. We also want to see households, workers and groups representing the environment (like anti sewage groups for water) sitting on the boards of publicly owned companies.
The current Special Administration Regime is a form of temporary public ownership of companies providing a key public service, designed to protect users from service disruptions. The government can either choose to keep the company permanently in public ownership or sell it back to the private sector.
We suggest using the law to squeeze private providers of public services, and when they become unprofitable and collapse, take them back. The government should stand ready with a public sector provider - not just in the context of utilities but other services like social care, to take over services when they are brought into public hands.
In the report, which coincides with calls from MPs on Parliament’s Environment Committee for Ofwat to reject a deal with Thames Water’s creditors, we argue that public ownership is key. When we own public services the country is wealthier, can benefit from revenue streams from household bills and can have the real control that only ownership can provide.
