Published: June 3, 2026 ⢠10:37 PM IST ¡ Updated: June 4, 2026 ⢠12:30 AM ISTBy TheBriefWire Editorial Team
Key points
There ought to be a rule to oblige politicians advocating âstronger public controlâ of an essential service or sector to say what, precisely, they mean.
Public âownershipâ is easy to understand â itâs nationalisation.
But Andy Burnham, when he cites water and energy as targets for greater public control, seems to imply something else.
Would he, for instance, torpedo the governmentâs current plans for water, notably the âonce-in-a-generationâ reset of regulation in England and Wales via the clean water bill due in the autumn?
Or is he merely saying Thames Water should be tipped into special administration, which may happen anyway without a shove from a new prime minister?