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UK Politics · 24 July 2026

Thatcher's Playbook, Run In Reverse

Thatcher's Playbook, Run In Reverse

© Crown copyright / No.10 Downing Street

Invert the 1980s and you get this morning's politics. Thatcher made selling state utilities her defining project. Burnham, who wants "greater public control" of water and energy, is weighing whether taking one back, Thames Water with its £20bn debts and 16 million customers, becomes his. One analysis argues nationalisation would be hard and legally contested, yet potentially a vote winner.

Reported by The National · How we write briefs

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