Burnham urges officials to come up with more radical options for Thames Water
Source: The Guardian ·
Exclusive: Utility seen as ‘litmus test’ of PM’s promise to bring ‘essentials of life’ under public controlAndy Burnham has told officials to rip up their plans for how to fix Thames Water and present him with more radical options for what to do with the stricken company.In an early test of his promise to bring “the essentials of life” under public control, the prime minister is urging his…
From the source
Andy Burnham has told officials to rip up their plans for how to fix Thames Water and present him with more radical options for what to do with the stricken company. In an early test of his promise to bring “the essentials of life” under public control, the prime minister is urging his advisers to go back to the drawing board and create a new list of policies for the utility. One option being looked at is to convert about £100m of outstanding fines into a government stake in the company, saving its creditors money but giving ministers some say in how it is run. Burnham previously said he would nationalise Thames, which is running out of cash and recently asked its creditors for an additional £2.4bn, but is struggling to find a way to do so without spending billions of pounds, getting tied up in a lengthy court battle, or both. Sources familiar with the prime minister’s thinking say he has now told policy officials across Whitehall to contemplate options that were not previously…