The potential collapse of Thames Water, sinking under £14bn of debt, is just the latest evidence that the regulatory regimes that oversee large parts of the British economy are failing.
It comes on the heels of Ofgem, the gas and electricity regulator, failing to notice that companies supplying power to consumers were undercapitalised and vulnerable to global price volatility. The rail regulator, Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), has failed to protect the users of northern rail services or of commuter services around London from the incompetence of franchise operators. Ofcom, once the most respected regulator, has failed to prevent egregious telecom double-digit price increases – one of the worst recent examples of corporate exploitation which has helped to push up the cost of living.
