The High Pay Centres report says we are being bled dry by fat cats. ________________________________________________________ Customers the big losers and fatcats the big winners in 30 years of privatisation Customers have been the big losers from 30 years of privatisation, a report claims. Bills for energy, water and travel have soared since once-publicly owned firms were sold off by successive governments. And while households have shelled out more, the High Pay Centre think tank says private investors and fatcat bosses have raked it in. A wave of privatisations started in 1979 with BP, but stepped up a gear by Thatcher’s government in the 1980s with British Gas, British Airways, the water utilities and electricity providers being sold. The report comes amid a raging debate on the recent sell-off of Royal Mail, with critics complaining the Government flogged a big chunk of the taxpayers’ stake on the cheap. The High Pay Centre says the average energy bill has risen 140% in the last 10 years to £1,252, while household incomes have gone up by just 20%. The average water bill has jumped 74% while leakage rates are up by nearly 30%. And some rail fares have risen by as much as 200%. But those who held on to their shares have done well, with investment firm Brewin Dolphin calculating that investors who put money into nine of the sell-offs have had a 419% return – more than double that for the FTSE 100. Other former state-owned firms – particularly in water – have been snapped up by foreign investors. Meanwhile, Sam Laidlaw, boss of British Gas owner Centrica, received a near £5million package in 2012-13. And National Grid head Steve Holliday got £3.4m in the same year. Deborah Hargreaves, director of the High Pay Centre, said: “Privatisation was supposed to boost share ownership among ordinary people and raise the standard of service in areas like energy, water and public transport. “But wealthy investors have cashed in while top executives are able to get away with paying themselves many times the amount they could expect to receive if they were still in public sector posts.” mirror.co.uk/money/city-news/customers-big-losers-fatcats-big-3254425
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 21:24:36 +0000
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