22 Sep 2025
On the eve of conference season, we’ve launched our ‘Public Ownership Party Scorecard’, ranking the main parties on their public ownership policies.
The Green Party scored highest with newly elected leader Zack Polanski making public ownership of water a cornerstone of his campaign. Whilst not yet officially a party, Your Party also scored highly based on their existing statements to focus on a nationalising agenda. Although their official policy platform is yet to be finalised.
Reform UK is a mixed bag, scoring low on their NHS privatisation plans, but high on water and energy, with their policy to introduce 50% public ownership and 50% pension fund ownership.
In the devolved nations we can see good progress from the Scottish National Party (SNP), running water in public ownership, delivering cheaper bills and higher levels of investment. They also took back control of ScotRail trains in 2022. In Wales, Plaid Cymru believes that “the privatised energy market has patently failed”. It wants “full control over our natural resources” and a sovereign wealth fund. Making the case for a new publicly owned energy generation company which is boosting community energy.
Whilst Labour’s reforms on rail are at least heading in the right direction, in other areas they face a serious challenge on public ownership from both their left and right flanks. Their recently published NHS 10-year plan contains very concerning proposals to reintroduce a form of wasteful PFI to fund Neighbourhood Health Centres.
Dr John Puntis, Co-Chair of Keep Our NHS Public and retired Consultant Paediatrician, said:
"Labour quickly abandoned manifesto promises to implement a huge wave of insourcing and a commitment to capital investment for the New Hospital Programme. Its current turn towards disastrously expensive private finance deals for the NHS is way out of step with public opinion and further evidence of an unhealthy focus on boosting corporate profits."
The majority of people in this country want their key public services like water, rail and the NHS in public ownership. We can all see that Thatcher’s privatisation experiment has failed - we’ve sold off the family silver and there’s nothing left to flog.
However, Labour are stubbornly refusing to re-nationalise water, even in the face of the imminent collapse of Thames Water.
Ash Smith, founder of Windrush Against Sewage Pollution, said:
“There has never been more compelling evidence to end privatised water. Yet, this government continues to side with financiers, protecting the water bosses and money men who prey on a captive public.
“People are waking up to the fact that, especially for Thames Water, the government is making an active choice to allow the continued rip-off of billpayers.
“With multiple challenges from pro-nationalisation parties, the government must quickly change course and start to represent the 82% who want water in public hands.”
Most of our established political parties are still swimming against the tide of public opinion. They have been slow to respond to the anger we feel at being ripped-off by the foreign billionaires and hedge funds swallowing up most of our water and energy bills.
It's important to show that other challenger parties are pushing further with a public ownership agenda. The Greens have long been supporters of nationalisation and now even Reform can see that public ownership is a vote winner.
Mathew Lawrence, Director of Common Wealth, said:
“Voters are sick of being ripped off. Essential services should be run by and for the public. That’s the best and most direct way to get bills down and Britain building. We Own It’s scorecard is a vital guide to show whether the political parties are finally catching up with public opinion, and who is committed to public services in public hands.”
With broad public support for publicly-owned utilities run for people, not profit - the political establishment needs to catch up.
