I had you down as more hirsute, Dane. 
Be well over 20 years since I bought one, though quartered they worked as toilet paper.
All a bit piecemeal though , and tokenistic tbh. The steel thing for one was really just to save a single factory , thereās really no national steel industry left. Same with the rail , wasnāt it a single franchise they were looking to take over ?
Iām actually impressed that someone is finally taking a holistic look at the privatisation con that has impoverished us all at the expense of private companies and foreign investors.
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No, theyāre bringing them all under state control but are waiting for the contracts to expire. Currently 11 of 16 are nationalised with this government having brought 5 of them under state control. The remainder will follow either this year or perhaps next.
I think this government would have considered the water companies in a similar process it is following with the rail companies but it has not had the financial position to do so. It will be interesting to see how Burnham manages this. Perhaps he gets lucky with the international picture affecting the UKās borrowing costs less.
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Fixed
Another? Or did you not experience the peak civilisation that was brunch and weekend papers? 
I suspect that investment would always have been required. Iām not sure if there was a contractual mechanism that put the onus on the water companies to create additional capacity.
There are two fundamental issues here. System maintenance and system capacity. Capacity means building more stuff.
You never had the pleasure of spending a Wednesday arvo drinking coffee and catching up on week old football news?
Youāve never lived
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Bring on the first Bluenose PMā¦and the first Roman Catholic? I know Blair became one later.
7 PMs in 11 years.. what a mess..
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Starmer gone. The next person will just try to be popular and win an election.
Where have all the big beasts gone? Where is the person with real ideas and a plan to fix the country?
Itās become about short term fixes and the election cycle. Completely disconnected from real life. Itās a game. Driven by a few hundred people who claim to represent the people but do whatever they think and whatās best for them.
Politics needs to change. Current Left or right the thinking is from the past. The world is moving and changing fast. We need a country that is able to adapt quickly but be self sufficient and a place to be proud of.
Political divide might differentiate you for an election but itās ruining the country. How the hell do we work together and get consensus?
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Yes, but the question here is what is the cost to the government for the maintenance and additional capacity and the impact that has on government finances. Itās likely both are needed. If the Water companies are nationalised then any spend needed above what cash is generated will require financing by the government. And if it is looking to reduce prices for consumers, that reduces cash flow further.
I had a quick look on google at Thames water for example, has debts of about Ā£16bn with revenues of around Ā£1.3bn. It makes little or no profit. Cost of government debt will be lower than the costs of private debt TW is incurring (8-9% for at least some of it) but that might be counted for by the increased borrowing needed for investing into it.
Quite sad watching Starmer speak. A decent bloke who gave it his best shot , but at the end of the day he was never a politician , and thatās the first requisite of the job.
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Well, Burnham is in favour of proportional representation. That would force parties to work together. The question is, is Westminster politics grown up enough to do that rather than the playground point-scoring.
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If you want a model of what it could look like, Scottish Water is a decent place to look. They have improved water services, but it is a long term task.
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A weak leader, and now a quitter.
Good riddance
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I think itās been his problem all along. In fact you could say the same about Sunak. Basically competent, but no political nous. Tony Blair was criticised for being all about spin, but part of the job is being able to explain policy to the general population.
Starmer does have his skills. He has a sharp legal mind and has diplomatic skills. He has done a reasonable job of mending relations with other countries. Maybe he would consider being foreign secretary?
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That cunt Farage will be licking his chops at the prospect of a general election.
Thatās not going to happen. At least not until August 2029.
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Yes, but they will have been paying that already. The question for me is whether the government can deliver it for less and if the maintenance needs exceed what was being spent on the contract. I suspect it will, because it always does when dealing with aging assets.
I also think thereās a question on regulation here. I believe the government have stiffened things up a bit but this whole issue is equally a failure of regulation as it is management of infrastructure.