IEA Director of Public Policy and Communications Matthew Lesh has written for CapX arguing that the recent woes of certain private water companies does not make the case for renationalisation airtight.

Matthew wrote:

“This historical comparison speaks to the other problem with claims about record amounts of sewage dumping. Data collection from overflow pipes only began in 2015, and last year was the first time ever that 100% of sewage releases have been counted. This makes historical comparisons worse than useless – they are deceptive.

“These facts have not, however, stopped Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey from describing the situation as a ‘scandal’ and calling for the declaration of a national environmental emergency. Nor has it muted the oft-heard demand to renationalise water.

“While water companies have been far from perfect, this pro-nationalisation narrative very much underestimates the achievements since privatisation and the trade-offs at the heart of this debate.”

Read Matthew’s full piece here.