What next for Thames Water? A briefing for MPs
Thames Water is on the brink of financial collapse.
In a desperate bid to stave off Special Administration - and therefore protect their profits - a group of Thames Water’s creditors have been negotiating with Ofwat (the water regulator) to take control of the utility. The creditors are promising to inject money into the utility in order to keep it afloat. In return, they’re asking to bend and break the rules in order to maximise their profits.
In this briefing paper for MPs we set out the reasons why Ofwat must reject the deal, and the path to bringing Thames Water into public ownership.
In the Autumn 2025 Budget the government announced that they are introducing a new form of private finance in our NHS, to build Neighbourhood Health Centres.
The details of this new finance arrangement have not been shared with the public, or their MPs.
Ministers have claimed that they will learn from the mistakes about PFI, but this promise has been made time and time again - PF2, LIFT, the Scottish Non-Profit Distributing model and the Welsh Mutual Investment Model have all been introduced as improved models of PFI. They have all failed taxpayers and patients.
Passengers not Profit: A vision for the railways bill
It’s exciting that the government is delivering public ownership of our railway, backed by 3 out of 4 people in the UK.
As Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has said, “We’re going to wave goodbye to 30 years worth of inefficiency, waste, passenger frustration, and we’re going to step really confidently towards a new future for the railways.”
But there are huge risks for the government here too. Without the right package of broader reforms, the results could disappoint passengers. Public ownership must be a clear success and it must be seen as such.
Briefing for MPs on the Railways Bill - April 2026
The government says, in its introduction to the new Railways Bill, that “passengers will be at the heart of Great British Railways”.
Bringing rail franchises in-house is the right starting point but the government must go further to make sure public ownership of the railway is a real success. This briefing explains a number of key amendments (under three broad headings) that will truly put passengers first.
When We Own It - a blueprint for 21st century public ownership
Privatisation has failed - it’s a fringe, extreme ideology. Most of us believe public services should work for people not profit.
But how do we make sure public ownership is efficient, effective, accountable, caring, green, innovative - and so wildly successful that no future Margaret Thatcher can ever dismantle it?
Introducing a blueprint for 21st century public ownership...
Privatised and Unprepared: The NHS Supply Chain
More than 600 NHS and care workers have now died from coronavirus and many of these deaths were “avoidable with proper PPE”.
Businesses and communities have been ready to help out with vital protective equipment – masks, gowns, visors. But in the last few months, it’s often felt like the government was asleep at the wheel.
Why?
The NHS Supply Chain, responsible for procuring and delivering PPE during the coronavirus crisis, has itself been privatised.