With a General Election less than a week away, one topic that has not been getting anything like enough attention is bringing utilities back into public ownership – something that commands massive public support, including here in Brighton and Hove , writes Green councillor Steve Davis. And with our coastline contaminated with sewage releases, a sewer network in the city cannot cope and our streets are flooded, Greens are determined to reflect what people want and put this on the political agenda. When Thatcher sold off our utilities in the 1980s, something not in her manifesto, it saw over £60 billion of state assets being sold off at 22 per cent of the market value, vulture capitalism at its finest, right? Not only were we served a raw deal, over time we’ve seen investors and water company bosses benefiting from bonuses rather than profits being invested into the vital infrastructure we rely on for our drinking water and sanitation.
The problems are particularly acute up in Patcham, where Southern Water appear to be downplaying the 279 flooding incidents residents have suffered over a three-year period, problems which have left children wading through sewage on their way to school. In one recent response that former MP Caroline Lucas received in May, Patcham High School is even blamed for the issues, and Southern Water seems to suggest its flood prevention work consists of simply “collaborating” with the school “to educate them on what to flush down the toilets a.
