Corbyns Inertia

BAA sold to Ferrovial in 2006 Labour party were in government, Prime Minister was Tony Blair

British Energy sold to EDF in 2008 Labour party were in government, Prime Minister was Gordon Brown

The German giant E.ON, the world's largest listed power company, bought into the UK market when it took over Powergen in 2001. In 2002, npower was sold to the Germany utilities group RWE. And in 2006, Scottish Power was taken over by Spain's Iberdrola. The Labour Party were in government. Prime Minister was Tony Blair.

Germany's RWE sold Thames Water, Britain's largest water company, to Macquarie, the Australian bank, for £8bn in 2006. At the time, Macquarie also owned South East Water, but it was sold on to Australia's Hastings Funds Management when Macquarie bought Thames. South East then merged with Mid Kent Water in 2007, and the new group is owned by Hastings Diversified Utilities Fund and the Utilities Trust of Australia. Labour Party were in government and Gordon Brown was Prime Minister.

There's a theme here.....

Does the government have a say in these?

Good grief, I just looked at the Corbyn merchandise .

A pint glass £6.

Tee Shirt £15

A scarf. £15

All those supporters with their tee shirt and scarf can't be food bank dependant . Remembering how many wore these or waved them at Glastonbury a fortune must have been made. He disgusts me .

Personally, I don't mind if those pesky foreign Europeans own companies who operate in the UK. I do mind about the quality of the service, that people working for them are properly paid and I do mind that they pay the taxes they are legally obliged to pay.

In the UK, we moan about Europeans owning our companies.
In Canada, they moan about UK and Americans owning their companies.
In America, they moan about the Chinese buying American brands.
The Chinese don't moan about anything. They know the consequences of having a moan.

Seems like reasonable prices to me

www.nwg.co.uk/Groupstructure.aspx

Except, of course, when the parent group of Northumbrian Water is a Chinese comany.
Then we complain about the Chinese people making a profit out of selling our water back to us.

I am not surprised you don't care, primrose.
Fortunately lots of us do.

They also own Wales and West utilities.

www.wwutilities.co.uk/about-us/our-company/

Chinese people making a profit out of selling our water back to us.

That sounds like it's straight out of a Nigel Farage speech!
"Our water, which fell from the sky onto our land. "
This is a rabbit hole I didn't expect.
What else should we 'take back control' of?

With global warming, massive increases in demand and pollution- water could well end up being even more a cause for war than petrol.

The behaviour of Nestlé (yes a Swiss company, I'm ashamed to say, but with shareholders all over the world) - in 3rd world countries is massively shameful.

As for Corbyn's inertia, this is from a friend from a remain group:

I'd love a fiver for every time I've heard Corbyn supporters saying that he's playing the long game, keeping his powder dry, playing his cards close to his chest and not disturbing an enemy while he's cocking things up! What I'd like to know is how long does a 'Long Game' have to go on before it turns into the 'Too Late Game'.

So all these people who voted Brexit to take back control don't actually want to take back control of our utilities.
Isn't that strange?

Our water? Could Wales have back all the resavoirs feeding England, it is OUR Water and our land

Ask the Chinese, Annie. They own West and Wales Utilities.

I thought Kielder reservoir fed most of Northern England - don't say that belongs to China too!

Trouble is, as Chewbacca already pointed out on this thread, the last Labour government sold these companies (and spent all the money).

This is the problem McDonnell has - he just wants to spend, spend, spend - the Viv Nicholson of the Treasury - and thinks big business will pay for him to do it.

“We are not going to be a traditional government; we’re going to be a radical government,” Mr McDonnell told the event at The World Transformed, the alternative Momentum festival. (From the FT)

What could possibly go wrong?

Everything Primrose, everything

And more besides annie!!

True niggly, so true, and it's our children and grandchildren who will suffer, Corbyn will have retired to Venezuela, his land of milk and honey, and guns

So all these people who voted Brexit to take back control don't actually want to take back control of our utilities @ 12.45 This makes me smile! As it was the Labour party who was in government, at the time that the majority of our utilities companies were sold off to oversees companies, I'm amused that a Corbyn supporter is perplexed as to why there appears to be no appetite to "take back contol". If Blair and Brown hadn't sold off our utilities in the first place, we wouldn't be needing to consider how to get them back. And as for the foreign companies who bought them are making a huge profit: of course they are! They bought them to make a profit from them; that's what business is about! Pity Blair and Brown didn't see the commercial potential when the flogged off them, isnt it?

We are where we are now. Essential utilities should not be sold to those who could, at some point, use them 'against you'- either be limiting supplies in a conflict, or putting prices up in a way to cause pain. So many of those essential utilities are now owned by EU companies- who were our closest allies and partners- and who we seem determined to turn into competitors from another side.

As for water - yes, it is OUR water - from our rivers, lakes and reservoirs. Are you saying it is right of companies like Nestlé to cut off supplies to native Indians so they can sell to others. Water is a natural resource, and it should be publicly owned, for the PUBLIC. Some things should be beyond corporate business interests.

As for public transport - wow - where does one start?!?

Here there is one public transport company- If I want to travel, I put the place where I want to travel from and where I want to go to - and I get an integrated plan which will include train, bus, boat, cable-car - and 1 ticket. I live out in the sticks and I have a bus, every hour, that takes me down in the valley to the train station (timetable integrated) - and 1 to go to my local station in France - up to midnight.

It is subsidised because it is an essential part of rural life and inter-city business, and because there is a genuine concern for the environment.

At last, 70 Labour MPs have written to Corbyn to ask him to change his tack on Brexit and insist that we get a vote on the final deal. If only the tide was turning.

He is however in a very difficult position- because he knows his members who want Brexit at all costs- will turn to UKIP or worse- if they see Corbyn turning.

Actually Corbyn wants us to leave the EU and must be glad he is getting what he wants via the back door so to speak.
Only Parliament will get a vote on the final deal, not the people, which is how it should be.

His own fault, he should have been honest when we had the campaign and said he wanted out , he has very few principles, would sell his soul for votes.

Annie, he is doing what he should do, and going with the will of the majority in the party.
He is not imposing what he wants on the party; if he did he would have getting rid of Trident as his main policy.

He is, therefore, being honest in terms of the party. Isn't that what you want? A party leader, as opposed to just a leader?
That's being principled.

Primrose65 It's complicated but "yes" Northumbria Water and Keilder are owned by a company listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange and that part of that company is owned by a Hong Kong millionaire www.nwl.co.uk/your-home/our-structure.aspx
So arguably part of England belongs to the Chinese!

She won't read that link any more than she read mine, trisher. If she had she would realise that China owns more of our utilities than we do.

For anyone who wants to find out who owns what and have taking it back as their New Year resolution, I recommend reading

weownit.org.uk/how-to-nationalise-regionalise-localise