The argument that nationalisation will solve all the problems today is the mirror image of the Thatcherite claims made then, and hardly more defensible. We need a more serious national conversation about the future of these vital water and sewage services. 3/3

One woeful stat we had to acknowledge was that England and Wales at the time had fewer beaches with the ‘blue flag’ for sufficiently unpolluted than land-locked Luxembourg had at the time. 2/3

I worked on the campaign to keep water public in the 1980s when we built an alliance between unions and Green lobbies based on a Charter for Water that recognised the failures of state stewardship as well as that privatisation would make matters worse. 1/3

I’ll be there next weekend and fear discovering that my ricketty knees are no longer up to the challenge.

So am I. So annoying.

What a lovely idea, and practice. I hope there’s a book in the replies.

Chicken and egg, to be fair.

Yes, but in the context of the recent NI hikes, Starmer will still pay the higher political price.