Why are our current systems of governance failing?

In May 2023, the Guardian reported that, in 2002, Chris Goodall had highlighted the regulatory risks from the takeover of Southern Water by Private Equity (PE) shareholders. And that, although that report would normally have been released under the 20-year rule, it is being kept secret. Goodall had predicted that “Large external private equity shareholders would load the company with debt and Ofwat inevitably would lose any regulatory control. For example, it would prove extremely difficult to ensure that water companies invested enough in sewage control.”

In 2021 when the Environment Agency damned the environmental performance of England’s nine water and sewerage companies as “the worst we have seen for years”, only three were then still listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE).  The six worst were Southern and South West, which were “terrible across the board”, and Anglian, Thames, Wessex, Yorkshire Water, which “required significant improvement”. Of those, South West Water is still listed on the LSE, which raises questions about the original design of the regulation of England’s privatised water and sewage system.

The photo below of Trevaunance Cove at St Agnes in Cornwall, which was taken on the last day of the school half term holidays in November 2022, shows the consequence of foul water being discharged into the sea by South West Water.

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Πηγή: blogs.lse.ac.uk