Thames Water

[Papa Lazarou]

I had a look at their accounts, they’re awful, but the damage is painted over by large property sales of £1.6bn in 2023.

They’ll probably stumble long because if the shareholders (they include uni pension funds for example) can’t afford them to fail …. as they’d be writing off their entire spend. I suppose any government would ultimately save the operation.

I don't see why this government would bother bailing out pension funds now. Liz Truss did more damage to our pensions in a couple of weeks than any number of companies failing.

 

[Weststander]

I don't see why this government would bother bailing out pension funds now. Liz Truss did more damage to our pensions in a couple of weeks than any number of companies failing.

Our worst prime minister? But I can’t remember the Victorian ones .

Frightening to think that for 49 days we had a right wing Trump/Bannon-esque buffoon in charge. The proof of her raison d’etre …. her antics in recent months, up to her eyeballs in US right wing bullsh1t.

 

[Pevenseagull]

Absolute shits. Shits running the company, shits owning the company and shits in the rivers.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Precisely.

Thames Water going bust and yet it has paid out insane amounts in shareholder dividends. The tory government will step in with oodles of taxpayers money to bail them out, then in year or so 'sell' it back to private 'industry' at a pittance.

Only because of privatization, which the public seemed to lap up under Thatcher, is it possible for the tories to rinse the public by diverting tax income to bail out private interests. What mugs we have become (the British Public).

And a tory will be along soon to explain how this is all right and proper, makes economic sense in the long term, and whatabout Jeremy Corbyn.

Someone just thumbsed this up from last year. So what happens now the shareholders won't sanction any more infrastructure spending? I fear that my prediction will come true. Well, if it is a labour government that has to bail them out, I trust that it will remain in public ownership.

What a disgrace, though, from the initial privatization to now. How many years have the shareholders been sucking dividends out of the business while the infrastructure is neglected (and I don't care how much money has been spent on infrastructure, the issue is shareholder dividends have depleted the available funds).

That's the risk when a monopoly is transferred from state to private hands. Illegal in America (albeit one assumes the rules are flouted). Sucking money out of a private monopoly then tossing away the husk is almost inevitable. Who knew? And who cared?

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Gove has told Thames Water they are a disgrace and will have to sort themselves out without cranking up prices.

Credit where it's due. Well done, Mikey