When the British environmentalist and TV presenter, Chris Packham, tweeted a link to a striking video of sewage gushing out of a pipe onto a sandy beach in Sussex last week, it caused quite the stir. By mid-week, the video had surpassed five million views – the latest demonstration of a change in public attitudes to the privatised water companies.
The video’s impact has been heightened by three factors: the water companies are monopolies in the areas that they supply; most chief executives are on £1m-plus salaries; and shareholders are doing very nicely, thank you.
The anger directed towards the companies is part of a wider change in the national mood over the past six months, ranging from widespread support for striking transport workers, to the acceptance of the essential role of food banks in 21st century Britain. Worsening fuel poverty in the face of oil and gas corporations’ eye-watering profits adds to the anger, yet the lead contender for the Tory leadership, Liz Truss, is planning general tax cuts rather than prioritising the actual crisis at foot.
