”In Scotland, water is already publicly owned – as it is in Paris and cities around the world.
FONTAINES DE LA CONCORDE – PARIS, FRANCE
Public ownership is wildly popular, and thanks to Labour’s manifesto pledges, it’s now on the political agenda like never before.
Industries that like water, rail and energy are under scrutiny. Privatisation, remember, was supposed to give us a stake in the British economy, reduce prices and improve services. Its actual track record is abysmal.
The dream of a shareholding nation, of course, never really came true – most British company shares are owned by foreign investors.
But more importantly, this is a story of taking advantage – we’ve all been ripped off, consistently, on a massive scale.
Regulated rail fares have increased by 24 per cent in real terms since privatisation. The private monopoly delivers well for rail firms who take very little risk for their return. State owned railways from Germany, Holland and Italy make a profit from passengers here and send it home to improve their own railways.
Energy firms have overcharged us by around £1bn a year, according to Citizens Advice, thanks to Ofgem allowing “sky high” profits at the expense of consumers (Ofgem contests the calculation). National Grid profits flow to investors in Australia, China and Qatar.
ukgovernmentwatch 
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