Are we paying the price for selling off the UK utility sector?
When you look at countries such as France, where the government have introduced specific laws to protect French utility companies from foreign ownership, the UK market has perhaps lacked the protection which sectors such as utilities demand. It was the Conservative government which brought about the privatisation of utility companies in the UK although nobody quite expected them to fall into the hands of foreign parents in such a short space of time.
While there are specific regulations and rules in place to protect UK consumers, there is no doubt that massive overseas conglomerates do not perhaps have the interests of UK consumers at heart. Indeed, over the last few years we have seen issues regarding gas supplies from Russia into Europe and on to the UK and there is no doubt the cost of all utilities has increased significantly since privatisation.
There is no point in blaming the current government for the predicament we are in, although there are critics who believe the government has no viable backup plan at the moment, because the Conservative party was behind the privatisation of the sector. The problem is that with the vast majority of UK utility companies now owned by overseas parents there is little likelihood of a return to UK ownership in the foreseeable future.
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