Exclusive: Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is 'serious' about taking over the 'essentials of life' if he becomes Prime Minister, according to sources close to the mayor. This includes a decade-long project to bring water and energy under public control, with the aim of improving performance and potentially reducing bills for consumers.
Several close allies of Burnham have said he wants to take over broad swathes of UK utilities, constituting one of the biggest transfers of ownership of British industry since the privatisations of the 1980s. This move could leave the public on the hook for billions of pounds' worth of infrastructure upgrades and running costs.
Burnham himself has said he wants to see 'the essentials of life being run primarily for the public interest, not for the private interests', but has not spelled out exactly what that would mean on a national scale. A spokesperson for Burnham would not comment further on his policy plans.
With Labour figures increasingly confident of victory in next week's Makerfield byelection, senior Burnham allies are now beginning to turn their attention to how to turn his political vision into concrete policies. Those feeding in ideas include Josh Simons, the outgoing Makerfield MP, and Miatta Fahnbulleh, the former energy minister.
At the heart of the agenda, according to those briefed, is a proposal to bring utilities back under public control, starting with the stricken Thames Water. Burnham told the Guardian last week: 'Public ownership is absolutely an option. I would say for Thames Water, that is what should be done.'
His allies want the government to take the company into special administration rather than accepting a deal offered by creditors which would write off up to £1bn in environmental fines. The government has argued such an action would cost £100bn, but some legal experts have said it could be done much more cheaply if administrators agreed that creditors should take little or no compensation.