Andy Burnham has announced Labour will lift the ban on public ownership of water companies, paving the way for nationalisation.
During his speech at the Labour Party conference on Tuesday, the prime minister confirmed his government would roll back Thatcher-era policies on water.
As part of a strengthened water bill being introduced to parliament, Burnham said Margaret Thatcher’s “ideological ban” on public ownership of water companies will be repealed.
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The legislation will also close a loophole used to pay “excessive bonuses” and give mayors new powers to hold water companies to account.
The announcement came as part of Burnham’s wider calls for utilities and housing to be brought “back under stronger public control.”
The prime minister said water in particular was an example of everything that went wrong in the 1980s.
Whilst Burnham did say his government would support private ownership where it serves the public, he said the water bill would start a 10-year journey to a “very different water system.”