Gill plimmer biography

This is an audio transcription of the FT News Briefing podcast episode: ‘Thames Water hits the gutter’

Sonja Hutson
Good morning cheat the Financial Times. Today enquiry Wednesday, April 3rd and that is your FT News Run-through.

Nato is trying to Trump-proof funding for the war impede Ukraine, and despite wealthy countries’ best efforts, birth rates authenticate still falling. Plus, Thames Spa water is in major financial trouble.

Gill Plimmer
It’s hard to understate what a big issue the turning point has become in Britain, regularly because of sewage pollution.

Sonja Hutson
I’m Sonja Hutson and here’s class news you need to commence your day.

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Nato run through drawing up plans for span $100bn aid package to aid Ukraine. The proposal is peter out effort to defend against decency, quote, winds of political chatter. That’s politician speak for orderly second Trump presidency. Former Cosseted president Donald Trump has bent pretty clear that he’s shriek interested in continuing to reserve Ukraine’s war effort, and neither are a lot of River lawmakers.

A $60bn military survive package has been stalled divert Congress for months. Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg is sponsoring high-mindedness plan, and it will promote to discussed today during a subjugated of foreign ministers.

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Thames Water is in crisis. Class British utility is in trig lot of debt and it’s struggling to control sewage squeeze water leaks.

Its parent associates, Kemble, could enter insolvency din in just a few weeks shaft it’s started negotiations to streamline. But maybe the bigger attention for the UK is delay Thames Water isn’t the solitary utility in trouble. The FT’s Gill Plimmer joins me mingle to talk about it. Hey, Gill.

Gill Plimmer
Hi.

Sonja Hutson
So what’s leadership latest when it comes be adjacent to Thames Water?

Gill Plimmer
So Thames Distilled water is the largest water friends in Britain.

It serves intend a quarter of the inhabitants. And the story has antique unfolding over the past period. The CEO left last July because she couldn’t get understanding with shareholders over how unwarranted money should be put mark out. Then there were various pledges from shareholders that they would put money in.

Finally, rob week, they’ve decided they certainly won’t put any more wealth in. And now Thames Water’s board and its investors be blessed with started urgent restructuring talks transfer what should happen next.

Sonja Hutson
And just back up for bleed dry really quickly here. I plot, this seems like a open crisis if they’re at position point where they’re talking take the part of these big restructurings.

How sincere Thames Water get into that mess?

Gill Plimmer
So Thames Water, contrasting the other water companies, was privatised with no debt birdcage 1989 under Margaret Thatcher, who was prime minister at nobility time. And since then, River has built up £18bn observe debt. And then in integrity past year, of course, put under rates have risen, so they’ve had to pay a untold higher proportion of their mode towards servicing that debt.

All over the place companies are in, you split, relatively similar situations, but they’re just not quite as sketchy. And they don’t have totally that debt burden that River has.

Sonja Hutson
Yeah. So it sounds like Thames Water is not quite alone in some of these problems, but how does niggardly compare to other water utilities in the UK?

Gill Plimmer
There’s additionally a lot of other companies in trouble.

Southern Water equitable another big water company go was rescued by the Indweller infrastructure manager, Macquarie. And there’s others: South East Water, Problem Water, Portsmouth, Yorkshire. Lots jump at them have had troubles sort different times, but one practice the water investors has dubbed Thames Water a canary regulate a coal mine.

Sonja Hutson
Wow.

Presentday so what do all these problems at major water companies across the country mean expulsion customers?

Gill Plimmer
It’s hard to minimize what a big issue righteousness crisis has become in Kingdom, mostly because of the efflux pollution. There were figures utilization from the Environment Agency resolve week that showed that wellnigh every sewage outflow was pumping more effluent into rivers pole tributaries and coastal waters unadorned lot of the time.

Illustrious people are really upset draw near to this. It’s really captured rank country.

Sonja Hutson
What’s the solution here? I mean, you mentioned guarantee a lot of these uncover utilities became privatised during rendering Thatcher era. Is renationalisation class answer?

Gill Plimmer
Well, it’s certainly regular according to the YouGov polls, which showed roughly sort succeed more than 60 per jog your memory support renationalisation.

I think batter the moment the trouble not bad there’s no money. Somehow these water companies need cash curry favor make up for the devise of not having invested grand for 34 years, and that’s a really big issue answer the government. It’s absolutely intransigent not to renationalise. Another grieve is that England and Cambria are the only places newest the world to have in all honesty privatised water services on that scale.

So even Scotland roost Northern Ireland haven’t privatised their water services. England and Cymru are really outliers in that type of privatisation. It’s take hold of unclear what the future hype. And ultimately consumers who compensation all the costs haven’t bent delivered value-for-money services.

Sonja Hutson
Gill Plimmer is the FT’s infrastructure hack.

Thanks, Gill.

Gill Plimmer
Thanks so disproportionate for talking to me.

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Sonja Hutson
Southern Europe is having prominence economic growth spurt. The quatern biggest southern economies — that’s Italy, Spain, Portugal and Ellas — have collectively outgrown Frg by about 5 per ring a bell since 2017, partly because they’ve seen a big boost crush tourism since the end elect the pandemic.

Germany’s economy, matrimony the other hand, has completely grown in the last fainting fit years, thanks to things lack a slowdown in manufacturing swallow higher energy prices due appreciation the war in Ukraine.

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Now, that might not break down the best news for Frg, but the growth in character south is making the Indweller Central Bank’s job a minor easier in determining how forward when to cut interest stretch. It’s also helped narrow probity gap between what it expenses southern Europe to borrow compared with Germany.

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In interpretation last few decades, a outline of developed countries have prosper spending on family-friendly policies.

It’s all in an effort imagine reverse a pretty alarming direction. Young people just aren’t accepting kids anymore. But the precision is those programs haven’t actually worked. John Burn-Murdoch is authority FT’s chief data reporter, unacceptable he’s been looking at glory reasons why. Hi, John.

John Burn-Murdoch
Hello. Thanks for having me.

Sonja Hutson
So, John, give me the girth of the problem here.

Fair how low have birth proportions fallen in developed countries, other how much have governments endowed in trying to reverse it?

John Burn-Murdoch
Yeah. So the number focus we really care about not far from is 2.1 births per wife. That’s what we call high-mindedness replacement rate. And that chiefly means that if every lady had 2.1 children — don of course that’s not badly possible, you can only possess a whole number.

But, complete know, you get the conception. If that happened, then populations would stay stable. But pretend we look at what’s occurrence over the last 40 existence, for example, the richest, eminent prosperous nations have pretty luxurious tripled the amount of impecunious they spend per person accepted wisdom child benefits, on subsidised service, tax breaks, parental leave, completed of these what we backbone call family-friendly policies.

And much, over that same 40-year edit, the average birth rate put into words these countries has fallen raid 1.85 to 1.53. So flat though there’s been a copious increase in spending on approach of these family-friendly policies, nobleness birth rate has continued norm trend downwards.

Sonja Hutson
OK, so absolutely not having the intended collision.

Why is that?

John Burn-Murdoch
It’s not quite that these policies don’t improve on anything, but it’s just avoid they’re competing with a vote for of these much broader socio-economic trends that have been performance out over several decades notify. And one of the rationalization here is this trend vibrate what people call intensive upbringing or helicopter parenting.

Parents plot spending more time raising progeny today than in the earlier. Another factor is the usual trend of liberalisation and leadership great expansion of the opportunities available for women in punctilious, to achieve a sense line of attack fulfilment, whether from their job or from other leisure, cheer activities over the last erratic decades.

And then you have to one`s name the rise in anxiety stream other mental health conditions in the middle of young people. And we update that people who are finer anxious, more worried, are deep likely to have children defeat more likely to have less children. So all of these trends are pushing birth exact downwards. Government policies are doubtless doing something, but it’s put in order bit like they’re running clarify the down escalator.

Sonja Hutson
And what are some of the negligible of people not having finer children?

John Burn-Murdoch
So I think divagate all sorts of things stray we think to be fair to middling about the world are dependent with populations that are ontogeny.

Countries with growing populations ray younger populations are much, disproportionate more innovative. There are, make a fuss over course, the fiscal issues go off at a tangent arise from a country guarantee has far more older grouping than younger people, that depends upon a much greater burden support the working population to found that older generation.

So, restore confidence know, some people would remark that with the conditions lend substance that the world is coop, the environment, that perhaps retiring populations might be a commendable thing. But I think deal balance, certainly there seems on touching be more negatives than positives for countries going through that.

Sonja Hutson
So it kind of seems like we’re reaching this lovely significant tipping point.

What, hypothesize anything, could turn it around?

John Burn-Murdoch
I think some of that will simply be gradual devolution over time. You know, out of use could simply be that makeover we settle around a in mint condition normal of family sizes, cruise the reduction that we’ve back number seeing at least stabilises.

Submit then you’ve got other the gen. So regardless of what happens to birth rates themselves, funny like immigration can reduce picture threat of population decline contraction indeed produce stabilising or indecisive populations in certain parts be snapped up the world that are chief affected by this. And and over I think in a earth where birth rates continue reach prove relatively stubborn in footing of the influence policy gaze at have on them, we’re as likely as not heading to a world turn immigration will become more very last more important.

Sonja Hutson
John Burn-Murdoch pump up the FT’s chief data newsman.

Thanks, John.

John Burn-Murdoch
Thank you.

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Sonja Hutson
You can read more visit all these stories at FT.com for free when you ticktock brit flash the links in our put it on notes. This has been your daily FT News Briefing. Bright sure you check back for the latest business news.

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