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Only the Green Party commits to Makerfield public ownership pledges

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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/

Vote Labour for Genocide.
Vote Labour for Genocide.
Continue ReadingOnly the Green Party commits to Makerfield public ownership pledges

Jeremy Corbyn publishes his manifesto

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Image of Jeremy Corbyn MP, former leader of the Labour Party
Jeremy Corbyn MP, former leader of the Labour Party

Former leader of the Labour Party Socialist Jeremy Corbyn publishes his manifesto as independent candidate for Islington North.

https://www.votecorbyn.com/manifesto

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This manifesto is our manifesto – it belongs to every single person who has written to me over the last 41 years, met me at a community event or simply stopped me in the street. Meeting people, talking to people and working together to bring about a fairer society – that is what being an MP is all about.

The issues facing people in Islington are part of a much wider set of crises. There are more people living in desperate poverty than I have ever known. More rough sleepers struggling to survive. More refugees fleeing the horrors of war and climate catastrophe. We will not solve these crises unless we build a new kind of politics. Our people-powered campaign will demand a redistribution of wealth, ownership and power. For rent controls. For an end to the two-child benefits cap. For a Green New Deal. For safe routes for asylum seekers. For a fully funded, fully public NHS.

This future is no pipedream – our community is proof that a kinder world is possible. I visit community centres which are welcoming, creative places, where people can meet each other, learn, eat together, receive support when they need it, and give it when they are able to. I meet carers doing all they can to support relatives or friends, often in the most difficult circumstances. I meet members of mutual aid groups who are building a new economy, one act of solidarity at a time. If we applied these basic principles across the board, we would create a society that cares for each other and cares for all.

When I vote in Parliament, I do not vote alone. I vote with my community – and this campaign is bringing together people of all ages, faiths and backgrounds in pursuit of a better world. We are offering people something very precious: hope.

Join us at www.votecorbyn.com to prove that when we come together to fight for a better society for everyone, we can win.

CONTENTS


ACTION ON THE COST OF LIVING
End the energy and water rip-off
Fair pay for Islington workers
Abolish the two-child benefit cap
Universal basic income
Wealth tax


HOUSING IS A HUMAN RIGHT
Security for renters
Build social housing
Housing insulation
Leasehold reform
Cladding justice


DEFEND OUR NHS
End privatisation
Support our doctors and nurses
Mental health
A National Care Service
Reproductive health


A GREENER ISLINGTON
A Green New Deal
Protect our parks
Save our buses
Walking and cycling
Animal welfare


EDUCATION FOR ALL
Save our schools
Education is not a commodity
Lifelong learning
Update our curriculum


A SAFER ISLINGTON
A public health approach
Tackling hate crime and extremism
A fairer criminal justice system


HUMAN RIGHTS ARE UNIVERSAL
Peace
Reparations
Refugees are welcome here
Migrant justice


OUR DEMOCRACY
The right to protest
The right to strike
Decentralisation
Local public ownership
Media and sport

Click here to download the manifesto

Continue ReadingJeremy Corbyn publishes his manifesto

Left Foot Forward EXCLUSIVE: Poll shows huge support for nationalisation of key industries and utilities

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/11/exclusive-poll-shows-huge-support-for-nationalisation-of-key-industries-and-utilities/

Privatisation has failed.

Image of an East Coast train
An East Coast train at King’s Cross station

An exclusive poll for LFF shows huge public support for nationalisation of key industries and utilities, with the public having little confidence in the private sector, showing just how badly privatisation has failed.

Our poll shows that a majority of the public support public ownership of key industries and utilities like energy, water, railways, buses and the postal service – including among Conservative voters.

Buses: 67% want public ownership

67% of voters want to see buses in public ownership, with just 23% wanting private sector involvement. Support for public ownership of buses is highest among 18-24 year olds at 77%, with 64% of those aged 65 and over also supporting public ownership.

When it comes to party affiliation, a majority of Conservative Party voters want to see buses in public ownership (61%) as do Labour voters (72%) and Lib Dem voters (66%).

Water: 73% want public ownership

When it comes to water companies, 73% of voters want public ownership of water companies, compared to 18% who want them to be run by the private sector. Once again, a majority of Tory voters also want to see public ownership (70%) as do Labour voters (81%) and Lib Dem voters (77%). 88% of Green Party voters also want to see water companies taken into public ownership.

Railways: 70% support for public ownership

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Energy: 65% want public ownership

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Postal service: 70% want public ownership

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NHS: 81% want public sector involvement only

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/11/exclusive-poll-shows-huge-support-for-nationalisation-of-key-industries-and-utilities/

Continue ReadingLeft Foot Forward EXCLUSIVE: Poll shows huge support for nationalisation of key industries and utilities