Burnham, take note: water shareholders have their uses – they can be squeezed for cash

South West Water’s Countess Wear sewage treatment works on the River Exe at Exeter in Devon, which treats wastewater from Exeter and Cranbrook. Photograph: Graham Hunt/Alamy

Water is “a service where the shareholders never lose and the public never win,” Andy Burnham, the prime minister, told the Labour party conference last week, reflecting the popular feeling towards the industry in England.

And, of course, his big-picture point is familiar: the £80bn, or thereabouts, that has been paid in dividends over the past 35 years represented over-the-top rewards for investors in many cases. It is easy to agree the public was taken for a ride.