Privatisation of UK Industries Exacerbates Cost of Living Crisis, Warns Green Party Leader

Published: 18 September ‘2025. The English Chronicle Desk

The privatisation of key UK industries has been identified as a significant factor behind the escalating cost of living crisis, according to Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who has called for urgent reforms to public ownership policies. Speaking in response to a recent report by The Guardian highlighting the financial burden of privatisation on British households, Polanski said the mass sell-off of state-owned assets over the past four decades has not only harmed critical public services but has also placed an unnecessary financial strain on ordinary people.

The report revealed that since 2010, British households have been paying an estimated “privatisation premium” of approximately £250 per year. This figure, Polanski noted, illustrates the cumulative financial cost of transferring essential services into private hands, including water, energy, transport, and the postal system. The Green Party leader described privatisation as a “failed experiment” whose consequences continue to reverberate across society.

“This report shows that privatisation has been one of the key drivers of the cost-of-living crisis and growing inequality,” Polanski said. “The Conservatives were the architects of this failed experiment, but successive Labour governments have done virtually nothing to reverse its harmful effects. Families are bearing the brunt of decades of mismanagement, and urgent action is needed to restore essential services to public hands.”

The Green Party leader’s comments come amid increasing scrutiny of the Labour government’s approach to public ownership. In his successful campaign to become Labour leader in 2020, Keir Starmer pledged support for “common ownership” of industries including rail, postal services, energy, and water. However, critics say the government has largely backtracked on these promises, opting instead for partial or symbolic re-nationalisations, leaving some of the most critical services in private ownership.

While Labour has made some efforts to reverse privatisation — including bringing certain train operators back into public ownership, creating the publicly owned GB Energy, and completing the re-nationalisation of the national energy system operator — campaigners argue that these measures fall short of the scale required to alleviate rising household bills and improve public service quality.

The study, conducted by the thinktank Common Wealth, found that since the privatisation of key industries in the 1980s and 1990s, at least £193 billion has been transferred to shareholders, private equity firms, and foreign investors. The report also concluded that the cumulative impact of privatisation has exacerbated inequality, diverted funds from reinvestment in infrastructure, and left essential services vulnerable to corporate mismanagement.

Commenting on the report, Paul Nowak, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), said: “We can’t ask families to keep footing the bill for decades of failed privatisation. From soaring water bills to crumbling rail services, the system is broken — and ordinary people are paying the price. The Labour government has made a strong start with the re-nationalisation of some train operators and the creation of GB Energy, but it must go further and faster.”

Nowak stressed that addressing the systemic issues caused by privatisation would require a coordinated approach to public ownership, including the re-nationalisation of failing water companies such as Thames Water, which he described as a “textbook case of corporate mismanagement.” He added: “Profits have been prioritised over people and infrastructure for too long. The government should continue delivering on its ambition to bring essential services back where they belong, and ensure public interest takes precedence over private profit.”

Jonathan Bean, from the campaign group Fuel Poverty Action, echoed these concerns, criticising the government for failing to clamp down on excessive corporate profits while energy and water bills continue to rise. “Right now, the government could be legislating to curb excess profits and deliver the savings it promised,” Bean said. “As winter approaches and households face growing energy costs, there is no time to lose.”

Polanski also raised concerns about the broader implications of privatisation, particularly its impact on the National Health Service (NHS). He claimed that the government’s approach to healthcare, including the introduction of private providers and outsourcing of services, mirrors the pitfalls seen in energy and water industries. “Under Labour, not only are water and energy being left in the hands of private monopolies, but the government is also breaking up our health service and opening it up to private profiteers,” Polanski said.

He emphasised that the Green Party remains steadfast in its opposition to privatisation and its commitment to public ownership. “We are unequivocally against the privatisation of public services and pro public ownership,” he said. “Water, energy, and transport must remain in public hands, and the NHS should not be opened to private profit. This is the way to create a fairer, greener future for everyone, while also bringing down the bills that families are struggling to pay.”

The Common Wealth report highlighted the long-term economic consequences of privatisation, noting that essential industries previously reinvested revenues into infrastructure, workforce development, and service improvements. In contrast, under private ownership, profit extraction has often taken precedence, leading to underinvestment, rising prices, and degraded service quality. The study also raised concerns about foreign ownership of critical infrastructure, warning that the reliance on global shareholders introduces vulnerabilities that could affect national security and resilience.

In addition to financial concerns, environmental implications were also raised by campaigners. Polanski and other Green Party representatives argue that private ownership has hindered the UK’s ability to meet climate and environmental targets. Utilities and energy companies, they claim, have prioritised shareholder returns over investments in renewable energy and sustainability, delaying progress on carbon reduction and energy efficiency.

The report also serves as a call to action for the government to consider a comprehensive programme of public ownership reforms, extending beyond incremental measures and aiming for full reintegration of essential services. Proponents argue that this approach could simultaneously improve public service standards, reduce costs for households, and address climate and infrastructure challenges.

Labour officials have indicated a willingness to continue pursuing selective nationalisations, particularly in the transport sector, but critics say more decisive action is needed to address the systemic issues exposed by the Common Wealth study. The debate over public ownership is expected to intensify as energy bills remain a pressing concern for households, particularly ahead of the winter months.

Polanski concluded by urging the government to act decisively, warning that failure to tackle the entrenched problems caused by privatisation would continue to exacerbate inequality and place ordinary families under unnecessary financial strain. “Public services belong to the people,” he said. “Reversing decades of failed privatisation is essential not only to reduce costs but to ensure fairness, equity, and sustainability across our society. The time for half-measures is over.”

As the UK grapples with rising bills and growing public dissatisfaction with service quality, the discussion surrounding the role of privatisation and public ownership is likely to remain a central theme in political discourse. Analysts predict that pressure from campaign groups, trade unions, and the Green Party could influence future government policy, particularly as households face ongoing economic pressures and the need for sustainable, affordable, and reliable public services becomes increasingly urgent.