Reacting to John McDonnell’s speech on plans to prioritise the nationalisation of the water industry in Labour’s first 100 days in government, Water UK Chief Executive Michael Roberts said:

“Labour’s priority for nationalisation flies in the face of all the evidence against it. The Institute for Fiscal Studies said last week that nationalisation would cost many tens of billions of pounds, risk creating disruption and upheaval, and would make it harder for the country to meet decarbonisation goals.

"Added to that, a ComRes poll earlier this year showed that only a third of the public were confident in the ability of a combination of local councils and trade unions to run the water industry, which is Labour’s plan. And then there’s the impact on pensions – including hitting more than 4 million public sector workers.

"When you consider all of the evidence, the nationalisation of the water industry in England would be bad for customers, bad for the environment and bad for the economy.”

For more information please contact Water UK Corporate Affairs on 020 7344 1805 or comms@water.org.uk