Private water companies are endangering our health and poisoning our rivers. Act now: flood the streets with rage | Feargal Sharkey

Yyou have been lied to, misled, cheated, cheated, and abused. For the last 35 years, you have been subject to nothing but the biggest organized chaos ever inflicted on the British people, and you have had little payoff except greed, profiteering, engineering financial, political failure and inability to manage. You have been there.

Thirty-five years after we were promised a vision of greatness, driven by the market of greatness, a future in which we would boast the joys of an unlimited supply of clean water; where our sewage would be quiet, efficiently collected, cleaned and disposed of, while our rivers, lakes and seas would be filled with a variety of flora and fauna; and above all we will have the cheapest water bills in the world.

But in reality, this Thatcherite vision offers nothing but pain, sadness and anger. Water bills, which have risen by 40% since privatization, are set to rise by an average of 21% by 2030. (adjust for inflation and this could mean an increase of up to 60% for some). Today every river in England is polluted, the whole city is poisoned and, in the last four years alone, 12,216,693. hours of sewage dumped into our rivers and along our shores.

And helping to guide this path of disaster is a regulatory system so dysfunctional and broken that it has become oblivious to its own failures and incompetence.

The system infected by another great epidemic of the 20th century, the Chicago School of Economics. Laws distort the functioning of free markets, it seems, and the market will give, of course. Its disciples, like many senior figures within the water industry regulator, Ofwat, are blinded, blinded – nay, held captive by what they consider to be the highest altars of wisdom. .

They truly believe that instead of controlling the water companies, just naming names and humiliating those involved will somehow awaken a sense of humanity and responsibility hidden within the dark souls of water industry executives. The truth is, these managers are driven by nothing but greed, salaries, bonuses, self-interest and shareholder value.

Indeed, it is extreme desperation and intransigence that has caused this fraud; pollution of such a scale and proportion that it is not damaging every river in the country but is reducing the lives of over 60 million people living in England and Wales who are affected by Ofwat’s ineffective decision-making processes pathetic approach.

Make no mistake, despite all the talk you may hear – “we’re sorry”, “we apologize”, “we’re taking action” – the industry and the authorities want you to pay. the latter time for sewer service that you have already paid for and have not received.

Not forgetting that while all this is happening, the water companies have emptied your bank accounts of the £78bn they have paid out to shareholders since privatization and the £100m they have paid out to fat cat bosses in salaries and benefits 10 years ago.

In an ideal world, if the boards of Ofwat and the Environment Agency understood anything about respect, decency or principle, they would have resigned – and they certainly should today, en masse .

And don’t think for one second that our kings and politicians have served us better. Parts of Scotland’s River Spey, arguably one of the world’s best salmon rivers, are failing, and Northern Ireland’s flagship, Lough Neagh, is poisoned. A toxic stream of human waste, agricultural waste and God knows what else has been allowed to pollute much of our precious water. In fact, what we are seeing now is the destruction of the environment after decades of government negligence.

After years of pointless, pointless meetings, round tables, discussions, and yet more negotiations and more round tables, washing barns and windows, it’s time of taking action.

What is needed now is bold, firm judgment, coupled with vision and determination to succeed and deliver; what is needed in this quagmire of sewage corruption is a thorough root-and-branch review, restructuring of an industry that has spectacularly failed consumers and the environment, and government enforcement and an end to for-profit pollution. What we need and want is leadership and urgency.

Now is the time to fill the streets with your anger, your anger, and your sadness. It’s time to say stop here, stop now and stop today. Be part of a coalition of stakeholders: join me in helping the UK’s water off the life-support; join me when I march in Parliament Square on 26 October for clean water; join me as I march for a future for our rivers, lakes and oceans; join me to help build a future for our children and our children’s children.

Flooding in the streets – we’ve had enough. Turn your anger into action.