Railway bosses give themselves average salaries of £1million as passengers face fare hikes

The Daily Mail reports:


Bosses of the five main companies that run the nation’s railways have paid themselves average salaries of £1million. 


Critics say the rises are ‘scandalous’ at a time when passengers face inflation-busting fare hikes.
Millions had to cope with fare rises of up to 11 per cent this year and more increases are in the pipeline for next year. 


The pay rises, before bonuses, pension contributions and share-options, come as taxpayer subsidies to rail top £4billion a year. 


You can read the whole article here.

Water, water everywhere, but its too expensive to drink

This column by CPO co-founder Neil Clark ,on England's great water privatisation rip-off, appears in the Morning Star.

The Crazy Gang. The Keystone Kops. The Marx Brothers. Just three of the all-time great comedy troupes. To which we need to add another name - the Institution of Civil Engineers. 


Last week this bunch of comedians issued a report which claimed that water in Britain is too cheap and recommended the introduction of compulsory metering. 


It would be a hilarious, side-splitting joke if only the subject under discussion wasn't quite so serious. 


In England water prices have risen by an average of 5.7 per cent since April, nearly double the rate of inflation. 


More and more people are finding it harder to pay their water bills. Research by the Consumer Council for Water has found that one in seven of all customers feel their charges are now unaffordable. 


Far from being too cheap, water in England is actually too expensive - and the reason is a simple one. It's called privatisation. 


You can read the whole of the article here.

71% say renationalise the water industry

The Sunday Express reports:

CALLS to renationalise the water industry have risen as a summer of drought looms despite heavy rain. 


Seven out of 10 voters want the control of water supplies taken out of the hands of major companies, many foreign-owned, and put back into public ownership.


After a month of constant rainfall and even flooding failed to lift drought restrictions in many areas, there are strong signs the public is increasingly frustrated with the performance of private companies and the Government at tackling the water crisis. 


You can read the full article here. 


If you live in England, then please write to your M.P. asking whether or not they support renationalisation of England's water.

Water bosses pocket huge bonuses and hand shareholders massive payouts

The Daily Mail reports:

Four million pounds in bonuses have been paid to the directors of water firms – despite their failure to repair leaks which allow 300million gallons to be lost every day.

All but one of the companies, which today brought in hosepipe bans for 20million customers, handed rewards to their board members in the last financial year.

These include £2million for three executives at Britain's largest water supplier Thames Water, whose highest paid director, understood to be chief executive Martin Baggs, took home £1.67million in 2010/11.

More on this story here.

It surely is time to renationalise water and end this great privatisation rip-off.

Neil Clark: Paying the cost of Britain's Greedy Firms

This article by CPO co-founder Neil Clark appears in the Sunday Express

DID you think Britain was an expensive enough country to live in?

If so, I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news for you. Over the next few weeks things are going to get a whole lot worse… Take energy prices. On December 1, Scottish and Southern Energy, Britain’s second biggest supplier, is raising gas prices by 9.4 per cent. Ten days later British Gas is putting up its gas and electricity rates by seven per cent.

Household bills will go even higher from January 1 as VAT rises to 20per cent. Just what we need to get the New Year off to a good start.

....Then there’s train fares. Britain’s railways are already the most expensive in Europe and fares will rise again by as much as 10.8 per cent on some commuter routes from January.

Far from being a helpless bystander, there’s much the Government could do to alleviate the situation.

Regarding the railways and the utilities, the best solution would be to bring them back into public ownership. With no shareholder dividends to be paid, prices could be reduced to the European average, bringing relief to long-suffering commuters.

In Belgium, where railways are still owned by the state, fares are up to 20 times cheaper than in Britain. At weekends, prices actually drop by 50 per cent, making it easier for friends and families to visit each other.

Railways are a natural monopoly and it is much better for consumers if they are in public ownership.

You can read the whole article here.

The average British family spends £42 a day on bills

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, 3rd MARCH 2008

By Lewis Carter
The average British family is having to spend £42 a day on bills, as the cost of living continues to increase.

Household bills have risen to £3,426 a year for the typical family, it is claimed, a figure that will rise again next month when council tax and water bills increase.
Added to the average mortgage, which costs almost £12,000 a year, it brings the annual bill to more than £15,000 - or £42 a day.
Data shows that mortgage costs have increased by an average of £600 from this time last year as a result of Bank of England rate rises and the impact of the credit crunch.
But it is the rising cost of utilities which is squeezing finances.