Politicians talk about shortages.
All sorts of excuses are made for a lack of GP appointments, housing, places in schools, and much else.
The reality is that none of these things is in short supply. We can afford to have enough of them all, if we want. We just chose to permit money to be used for other purposes.
The same is true of something else that is going to be in short supply this summer, unless we have torrential rain between now and then, and that is water.
We face a drought this summer. This is not necessary. We could have a more than adequate water supply in the UK. There has, however, been a political choice made not to pursue that possibility. That choice is still being made, right now, with the government refusing to intervene in the water industry even though the need to do so is apparent to absolutely everyone but those working in the Treasury.
For 45 years, it has been more important to pursue profit than to meet need.
For that long, financial engineering has been more important than actual engineering.
We are now paying the price, and still our politicians have not realised that there is a need for change.
Will they ever do so, or do we need a disaster to prove the need? I really don't know, but so powerful is the lure of money for them, it seems, I suspect a disaster is required before they even notice the issue, let alone consider how to deal with it.
Thanks for reading this post.
You can share this post on social media of your choice by clicking these icons:
There are links to this blog's glossary in the above post that explain technical terms used in it. Follow them for more explanations.
You can subscribe to this blog's daily email here.
And if you would like to support this blog you can, here:
Buy me a coffee!
Shortages are manufactured by neoliberalism in order in increase prices and profits.
We could build houses, but we have a shortage.
Gas and electricity, likewise.
It’s no coincidence.
From the article: “A Thames Water spokesperson urged people to play their part in reducing water use” as the same company permits megalitres (I like the SI prefix here, sounds more dramatic to my ears) of water to leak from their poorly-maintained pipes. Reminiscent of the oil and gas companies encouraging us to reduce our carbon footprint, straight from the neoliberal playbook.
I wonder if we can expect our water bills to itemise the return on the £104 bn of private sector investment.
We’re going to be short of immigrants.
According to the ONS figures the population of the UK will only be increasing after the mid-2030s because of immigration, and even that might not provide enough extra workers if the fertility rates continue to plummet downwards.
https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/the-uks-changing-population/
Capitalism does not work if the population is decreasing. Of course it only “works” now for the richest so it’s imminent failure will be good news for most.
From The Independent:
“In part in a bid to replace EU staff the NHS in England has hired tens of thousands of health staff from countries such as Nigeria, Ghana and Zimbabwe since the UK officially left the EU at the end of 2020.”
This makes no sense to me. Why would the UK prefer to recruit health staff from Nigeria, Ghana and Zimbabwe instead of recruiting health staff from the EU? Foreign workers are foreign workers no matter where they come from.
BREXIT really was a folly if all that has happened is that a nurse from Poland has been replaced by a nurse from Zimbabwe.
That’s what Farage did for us.
And now he blames those working in the NHS for his own lack of foresight.
“This makes no sense to me. Why would the UK prefer to recruit health staff from Nigeria, Ghana and Zimbabwe instead of recruiting health staff from the EU?”
Plus also, I suspect that many of these health professionals are really needed in their own country.
WHO red list fails to stem Africa health worker exodus
The growing migration poses a significant challenge to accessible and quality healthcare services for millions across the continent.
In Nigeria, each doctor has an average of 5,000 patients, whereas the OECD average is around 270 patients per doctor.
https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/who-red-list-fails-stem-africa-health-worker-exodus
Yes, we have a need for health professionals, and Brexit totally messed things up, but taking workers from countries that arguably have a greater need for them is not the answer.
We should have consideration for the needs of others, many of which are far worse off than we are. It just shows that the system and the way of doing things is failing again.
I am a little surprised the OECD figure is that low…
Thank you and well said, Richard.
Let’s row back to where and with whom this nonsense started: https://www.techradar.com/news/world-of-tech/how-the-uk-lost-the-broadband-race-in-1990-1224784 *. We can add cancellation of an islandwide water grid thought of after 1976.
*The headline reminds me of a conversation with a colleague in late 2003. He, English and the son of teachers, had spent the spent the summer working in Paris and returned, scathing about the shopkeeper mentality.
One wonders if Richard would consider posting that headline and some commentary on X and Blue Sky. It may resonate with people.
🙂
While still at the Open University in the 2010s a colleague and I were academic advisors for a joint OU/BBC series on infrastructure in the UK, and even then we spoke to water engineers who called for a pipeline to be laid from the North West to the East and South East of England. Indeed, if a recall correctly, the BBC included an interview with the head of one of the Northern water companies in which they said they were prepared to start work on this as the plans had largely been agreed many years before (1970s?). Of course, nothing came of it – probably because all the money went to a vanity rail project ion the South East that will benefit very few (except all those consultants/engineers/lobbyists who managed to keep the HS2 gravy train – the only train of note – running for so long).
We can add cancellation of an islandwide water grid thought of after 1976.
Scotland should be very glad that plan was cancelled. We had the good sense to keep our water out of the hands of private.
Sorry, but England can sort out its own water issues.
No employment for autistic people nobody gives a dam
And that worries me, enormously, as I hope I have amde clear.
Its a pyramid scheme. Only few on the top getting paid, by the people below them in the scheme – the ordinary citizens.
More non-profit companies are needed to run and managed the basic of life, water electricity and public transport, etc. Not state-owned, nor private-for-profit.
Time is well over due to take this CAPITALIST country with a liberal democratic society, and turn into a Social Democracy with a capitalist economy. Like Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and the Netherlands. The political system of Great Britain is out dated, and as is, systematically de-voicing its people. Which is Victorian. It is time, especially in the current climate, to rethink what ‘democracy’ means to the British, and evolve the political model, and truly take the interest of the country at heart.
One of the problems the British have, is that they always have been ruled by division, rather than unity. Unlike, for example, the Dutch, who are ruled by concepts of unity, and the notion of belong together.
I read once that the creation of the Three Gorges Dam mitigated sea level rise by 1 year. A decent reservoir in Abingdon which keeps getting denied planning permission could mitigate the UK’s contribution to sea level rise by 1 year. There’s clearly an absence of thinking in the government who have insisted for 17 years through five different flavours that sea level rise is a serious problem.
Thank you, Dave.
Rising sea levels and salination are problems, but I don’t think more dams are the answer in these cases.
It’s interesting that you mention Abingdon. I live in mid-Buckinghamshire, so not that far from Abingdon and in the same water authority catchment, and am aware of the proposal and one forgotten about near Thame. Thames Water should probably focus on pipes, but it and Southern Water have no mapping of their networks.
The government don’t give a dam. (Sorry)
What is clear to me that in the face of such overwhelming evidence now in front of us, the only possible explanation for shortages is that it continues because of corruption.
It is corruption that in the most part is responsible for this.
But also, I think we have in the UK at least have a problem with the concept of ‘investment’. I don’t think we have realised yet that these days – since privatisation itself – that investment is not actually ‘investment’ – it is just an entry fee for acquiring other people’s or public assets that can be turned into liquidity by the fee payer.
Real investment is a much longer term commitment. And then there is the sub-set problem we have with money.
It seems that when ‘investing money’, ‘investing people’ expect money back in return.
Not better roads.
Not better health services.
Not better railways.
Not better water and sewage.
Not more efficient utilities.
Not better flood defences.
Not better whatever…………
Money it seems is expected to no longer provide anything…….except more money.
Bizarre isn’t it?
Agreed
The UK is short of competent management.
No reservoirs built for 45 years despite the increase in population – nobody takes responsibility. If the drought continues for a few more weeks our pipes will be completely dry, even if there is the odd downpour, especially the Thames Water area. The toffs is London will wonder what has hit them with all their privatisation nonsense.
We actually have a surplus of 1.5 million dwellings but many are used as second homes, holiday let’s or for investment. Cornwall has 35000 surplus dwellings.
Would you ban and outlaw Holiday Lets?
Can Holiday Lets be banned and outlawed?
I am not sure that is possible.
What I think needs to be looked at are second homes that are occupied for only short periods a year.
They need to be heavily taxed.
This is also true for empty properties.
A holiday let is also an empty property, often for more than half the year. I think some places have required holiday lets be occupied for a certain portion of the year, so they are not designated as empty properties.
I didn’t know that second homes and empty houses were taxed lightly by UK councils. Until now. Thanks
Relatively lightly, IMO
Interesting point on water Richard. Here’s The Canary on the very same subject:
“Water boss tells public to ‘ration water’ after selling off reservoirs for millions”
“Managing director of Southern Water Tim Mcmahon has told the public to ration water in spring time hot weather. But water companies sold off 35 reservoirs in just five years, making £26 million from flogging what were public assets. That’s before Margaret Thatcher privatised them in 1989……………”
https://www.thecanary.co/uk/analysis/2025/05/07/southern-water-ration/?__s=t465ymtdxyhhvb1awts8
You can, if you like, eavesdrop on this conversation amongst a group of headless chickens running around the Labour Party hencoop, but it’s pretty depressing.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/may/07/keeping-farage-from-no-10-is-a-battle-for-uks-future-heart-and-soul-labour-mps-told
Maurice Glasman wants Labour to “move into the space vacated by the Conservatives”, no less (we had noticed the tack to the right).
There are also some clucks from the McFadden half of McTeam, about
“a battle for the very future and heart and soul of our country… the generational fight in this new political era…”.
(No, I haven’t got a clue what he’s on about either.)
For an example of depressingly vacuous drivel, see Glasman’s Blue Labour prescription for a 2029 victory in the final paragraph of the article. I’ve no way of translating it back into English, if anyone knows what it means, please do enlighten me.
Mr Glasman, if you think that’s what my economically disadvantaged neighbours are clamouring for, then you are living in a deranged fantasy world. You really need to get out of politics and try something better suited to your skill set – perhaps writing advertising copy for L’Oreal hair products, “because you’re worth it”?
Glasman is far-right. Always has been. A massive error by Miliband to appoint him to the Lords.
I noticed long ago that just as some individuals are more physically vulnerable to the deleterious effects of hard drugs, others are incapable of discriminating embodied experiential knowledge from that ingested from looking at a TV or film screen. It sounds like too many in our political class are basing their personal ideology upon their childhood viewing of R.C.Sheriff’s screenplayed The Dam Busters.
I loved that film
And I hated it
This anyone?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Contour_Canal#:~:text=The%20Grand%20Contour%20Canal%20in,years%20later%2C%20by%20J%20F%20Pownall.
That’s interesting John. A useful national water waterway rather than a useless, truncated, countryside destructive, vanity rail line. Shame the plan was too sensible, didn’t make a lot of rich people happy, and made the mistake of benefiting the whole country rather than our continually pampered ‘elite’