Isn’t it a happy coincidence that, after years and years of private company investment in the Parisian water infrastructure, when the state took over the bills could fall. No doubt they could do the same over here now that loads of work has been done but, as sure as eggs are eggs, the investment will not be maintained when funds dry up elsewhere and that money is needed for the NHS, or public transport, education, roads, social services etc etc. Then the rot will set in once more.

This is an ideological, socialist argument dressed up to pull on the anti fat-cat sentiments of jealous individuals. It doesn’t stand up to scrutiny and completely ignores history and human nature. The real problem is that the market is not allowed to operate properly – it is regulated by OFWAT, who are, quite frankly, useless. Do we want £1 a week off our water charges, or £500 million invested in fixing / preventing leakage? Ofwat has repeatedly gone for the £1 a week option. Since privatisation, it has repeatedly failed the consumer and has incentivised the wrong behaviours.

How about a real value being put on water – such that it becomes a valued commodity that people won’t recklessly use sprinklers on their gardens or won’t flush 2 gallons down the loo to get rid of half a pint of urine? Nobody blinks at £2.50 a day for a latte, £45 per month for their mobile phone, £70 a month for Sky TV and £200 a month for a brand new lease car – but £2 a day for unlimited water and waste water disposal? Never – it’s a rip off Tory thing and must be nationalised…really?

Be careful what you wish for.

With regard to Labour, my scepticism is down to the fact that Labour is pretty severely riven, with a very large number of MPs openly hostile to Mr Corbyn’s leadership and the agenda he and his colleagues have set. In Scotland, he has made a number of statements which have been sympathetic to the aspirations of the Scottish Government, or, at least, not hostile to it, only to be very quickly forced into a retraction by the Scottish Labour MSPs, most of whom, with the exception of their leader, Mr Richard Leonard, are opposed to him. Devolution is further advanced in Scotland than elsewhere – indeed, it is close to 50/50 regarding independence – but, of all the Scottish parties, including the Tories, during the Smith Commission consultations, Scottish Labour was the most hostile to further devolved powers.

There is still amongst Labour MPs (yes, MPs) an attitude that they know what is best for the rest of the UK. Harriet Hartman and Yvette Cooper, for example were opposed – contemptuously – to devolution of powers on abortion being devolved to Scotland.

So, what you say might well be true about Labour’s stated policy, but I fear that when it comes to governance, they will revert to the dirigiste, ‘WE know what you need.’

I hadn’t heard about the Glasgow Corporation, but this sounds fascinating and is definitely something I’ll look into.

Municipalisation of water is undoubtedly a feasible way of having public control. The example of Glasgow Corporation in the 19th century is an excellent example of municipal initiative.

Although water, per se, is an important case for public control, it is but a part of the wider issue of the constitutional reorganisation that is required in the UK, with powers located irreversibly at local levels and devolved as far as feasible to even more local communities. This also has to be accompanied by a change in the voting system.

I am not convinced that the Labour Party and the central management of the major trade unions wants to see Westminster ‘lose’ powers to local areas. They are as determined as the Tories to be able to exercise Westminster’s powers, albeit from ostensibly different value perspectives. I was a career long trade unionist and my father was a member of the old boilermakers’ Union, and, while I am a strong supporter of TUs, I am wary of the goal displacement which occurs in all large organisations from such as RBS, via trade unions like GMB, to third sector bodies like Oxfam.

While I think that water and sewerage should be a public utility, I feel irritated by the tacit assumption that the experience of someone in London is the same as that for everyone else in England, and those in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

I really do hope we can kickstart the debate Hettie O’Brien as I do feel the water industry is going down the tubes.
Take Paris for example now publicly owned though i do not know what the water infrastrcture leakage rate is.