17 June 2026 - ... on a quiet day, I can hear her breathing

Only the Green Party commits to Makerfield public ownership pledges

Spread the love

https://www.thecanary.co/uk/news/2026/06/16/public-ownership-makerfield/

Composite image of Restore, Labour, Reform and Green candidates for Makerfield by-election in front of a Bee Network bus. Illustrating questions of candidates on public ownership

Only the Green Party has responded to a Makerfield public ownership pledge launched today, explaining which local public services they would take back if elected. Andy Burnham has not clarified his position, despite his critique of privatisation in recent weeks.

Campaign group We Own It asked the six main Makerfield candidates for their positions on public ownership of water, energy and buses, as well as a local BlackRock deal with Greater Manchester Pension Fund to buy up GP surgeries.

Nearly 10,000 emails have been sent to the candidates over the weekend to put pressure on them to reveal their policies. This follows on from a previous letter seeking candidates’ views on support for Palestinian people.

The campaigners point out that in 2025 United Utilities dumped sewage into waterways in Makerfield for over 3,000 hours. The electricity distribution company Electricity North West is rated only 1.9 on Trustpilot and has slowed down grid connections.

In 2025 the local gas distribution company Cadent Gas paid out £38 per household in dividends to its shareholders. These include Australian asset management firm Macquarie and the Chinese sovereign wealth fund.

Cat Hobbs, director of We Own It, said:

It’s really shocking that Andy Burnham has spent the last few weeks attacking 40 years of Thatcherite privatisation but won’t take a clear position on the local water and energy companies ripping off the people of Makerfield.
Voters deserve to know if he will stand up for them or for a handful of shareholders around the world. Keir Starmer promised public ownership and then betrayed voters. Burnham can’t fool us twice.
Water and energy are profitable assets with a revenue stream so it’s a great deal for the public purse to bring them into public hands. United Utilities and the North West energy grid are monopolies – there is no market. So we need accountability as citizens, and profits reinvested instead of leaking out.

Article continues at https://www.thecanary.co/uk/news/2026/06/16/public-ownership-makerfield/

Post author:dizzy
Post published:17 June 2026
Post category:Andy Burnham crap pretend Labour Green Party Keir Starmer Labour Party nationalise Neo-liberalism new authoritarianism plutocracy politics privatise
Post comments:0 Comments

‘Renationalisation is the only way to end Thames Water farce’

Spread the love

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/renationalisation-only-way-end-thames-water-farce

107 MPs demand government rejects £10bn rescue deal put forward by Thames Water’s creditors

UNIONS, campaigners and MPs are demanding the government put an end to the uncertainty surrounding Thames Water and permanently nationalise the scandal-ridden utility.

They renewed their calls to nationalise the water firm today after Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds came out against a £10 billion rescue bid, saying it poses an “unfair cost to consumers.”

The minister’s warnings closely followed an open letter to Ofwat signed by 107 MPs demanding the government reject the deal put forward by Thames Water creditors to salvage the company.

Politicians expressed urgent concern over allowing the firm, which is responsible for almost a third of all the industry’s most harmful pollution incidents last year, to set its own rules through the proposed deal.

Ms Reynolds told the House of Commons today of her letter to water regulator Ofwat warning that the plan did not go far enough to protect the environment and water customers.

Thames Water hopes the deal will help stave off temporary nationalisation as it faces collapse due to being nearly £20bn in debt.

Although not an official government decision, the minister’s comments cast doubt on the viability of the plan which she said could mean Thames Water’s 16 million customers “bear an undue cost for investment in the company.”

Ms Reynolds added that the proposal likely means further delays to mandated environmental improvements of wastewater treatment facilities and other projects vital to drinking water safety.

On Tuesday, Ofwat was reportedly still close to accepting the offer from bidding consortium London & Valley Water, which proposed injecting £10bn into debt-ridden Thames Water.

In return, any new fines for sewage leaks would be waived for four years.

…

Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/renationalisation-only-way-end-thames-water-farce

April 2023 Surfers Against Sewage and Extinction Rebellion protests in St Agnes, Perranporth, Truro and Charlestown which unveiled spoof Blue Plaques to the MPs and Conservative Government who allowed raw sewage to be dumped in the sea (Image: Surfers Against Sewage)

Post author:dizzy
Post published:17 June 2026
Post category:crap pretend Labour Labour Party nationalise Neo-liberalism plutocracy politics privatise
Post comments:0 Comments

Burnham’s popularity wanes as by-election nears, polls find

Spread the love

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/burnhams-popularity-wanes-election-nears-polls-find

Andy Burnham makes a speech surrounded by supporters at the launch of his campaign as Labour’s candidate for the Makerfield by-election in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Greater Manchester, May 22, 2026

ANDY BURNHAM’S popularity is on the slide with the public, according to two different opinion polls.

In the week that Makerfield is poised to send the Manchester Mayor back to the Commons with a platform to challenge Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for the premiership, Mr Burnham’s previously positive ratings have turned sour.

YouGov, which previously made him the only politician in the country with a net favourability rating, now has him down 11 per cent, with 30 per cent of the public liking him against 41 per cent negative.

An Ipsos poll had similar findings, although both surveys still make Mr Burnham less unpopular than any other politician and notably more popular than potential leadership rival Wes Streeting.

Since starting his by-election campaign in Makerfield, which votes on Thursday, Mr Burnham has flip-flopped on a range of policy issues, from the bond market to justice for the Waspi women.

Leading figures on the Labour left are also privately expressing doubts and warning that, if Mr Burnham does ascend to Downing Street, continuing pressure will be needed to ensure he steers a different course than Sir Keir.

…

Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/burnhams-popularity-wanes-election-nears-polls-find

Post author:dizzy
Post published:17 June 2026
Post category:Andy Burnham crap pretend Labour genocide human rights violations Israel Keir Starmer Labour Party Neo-liberalism new authoritarianism plutocracy politics Zionism
Post comments:0 Comments

Streeting backs ‘progressive capitalism,’ drilling and the bond market

Spread the love

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/streeting-backs-progressive-capitalism-drilling-and-bond-market

Wes Streeting speaking about so-called ‘progressive capitalism’ at No1 Tower Place West, in central London, June 16, 2026

LABOUR leadership pretender Wes Streeting came out fighting today for carbon fuel, the bond market and “progressive capitalism.”

The former health secretary reaffirmed that he will contest any leadership election triggered by Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham’s expected victory in the Makerfield by-election this week.

Mr Streeting, the Blairite candidate in any election, backed plans to drill for oil and gas in the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields in the North Sea.

He said he aimed to “protect the workers in oil and gas, who’ve seen words like ‘just transition’ translate into jobs for someone else, somewhere else. We should be working with the unions on this – not least on making sure that we’re building our clean power future here in Britain, not simply importing it from China.”

He denied that this would forfeit Britain’s “moral leadership” on climate change.

“The best example we can set is to show the world that net zero is compatible with a pro-growth agenda. The worst example would be losing support for the net zero agenda, handing the country to Nigel Farage, and allowing Reform to destroy the renewables industry,” Mr Streeting said.

Green Party deputy leader Rachel Millward said his “call to open up new drilling in the North Sea is environmentally reckless and economically illiterate.

“Rosebank alone contains enough fossil fuel to produce over 200 million tonnes of CO2 if burned – more than the combined annual emissions of 28 low-income countries.”

Uplift director Tess Khan said: “Politicians need to learn the lesson of the last five years – the UK’s dependence on fossil fuels is making a handful of oil and gas companies obscenely rich and the rest of us poorer, while driving inflation, harming the economy and altering our climate.

“Streeting would do better to listen to the millions who are sick of the energy giants loading costs onto the rest of us, and pay less attention to this profiteering industry and its proxies, like Tony Blair and Donald Trump.”

…

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/streeting-backs-progressive-capitalism-drilling-and-bond-market