Common Wealth

16 Sept 2025

Welcome to Rip-Off Britain. A country remade by privatisation. Our latest project — Who Owns Britain? — explores how a radical experiment transformed our society and shapes your life. 🧵

We Aren’t the Champions: Why UK Venture Capital is Failing to Scale Domestic Innovation 🧵 The UK has government schemes, universities producing world-leading research and a history of record-high funding levels in the 2010s. So how come they can’t challenge US Big Tech?

common-wealth.orgWe Aren’t the Champions: Why UK Venture Capital Is Failing to Scale Domestic InnovationAs long as the UK venture capital market is subordinated to the US, cultivating the UK's tech startup ecology will prove a Sisyphean task.

The UK needs to rethink what innovation is for, who controls it, who benefits from it and how to retain that value.

Building true technological capacity means confronting the structures that keep UK innovation subordinate to US Big Tech. Read our new report: www.common-wealth.org/publications...

This results in UK innovation creating value elsewhere. This was explicit in the purchase of DeepMind by Google. Meanwhile, companies that reach the London stock market tend to be less technologically ambitious often following business models pioneered in the US.

The government's answer has been to flow more into venture capital. But this isn’t going to fix a system structurally dependent on US investors, markets and buyers. It instead concentrates wealth among a small elite.

This report’s analysis of nearly 1700 investments across the UK’s largest VC-backed tech firms and unicorns showing structural dependencies.

UK start-ups rely on US investors, particularly for large late-stage fundings rounds and UK venture capitalists themselves are heavily oriented towards US markets — investing their money in US rather than UK companies.

Our new report shows who owns, finances and ultimately profits from British tech. www.common-wealth.org/publications...

Ineffable Intelligence, a UK start-up, raised a record $1.1 billion in a seed round in April 2026 before the launch of any product. The US VC giant Sequoia led the round, alongside Google and Nvidia illustrating the problem — UK innovation depends on US capital from the get-go.

thetimes.comPrice caps, rent controls — is UK’s economy stifled by the state?With the retreat of neoliberalism, too much government intervention in sector after sector is causing weak growth and lower profit incentives, critics say

"[Public] control without ownership risks having responsibility without the appropriate powers." Our director @mathewlawrence.bsky.social spoke to The Times about why public ownership of essentials is the missing tool needed to bring long-term costs down. www.thetimes.com/business/eco...

Energy prices will soar across Europe this winter. But because Britain is unusually vulnerable to gas price shocks, we will pay even more than our neighbours. In May, we set out four ways to make our energy system less dependent on global gas markets 👇 www.common-wealth.org/publications...

common-wealth.orgVery British ProblemsOn the anomalousness of British energy strategy.

On energy, Britain is a global outlier. Virtually none of our neighbours have taken privatisation as far as us. Many are now reversing course. @chrismwhayes.bsky.social explains how recent developments show just how anomalous our energy strategy has become. www.common-wealth.org/publications...

common-wealth.orgAbout Common WealthLearn about our plan to reimagine the role of ownership and property in shaping the structure and operation of our economy.

🚨Common Wealth is hiring for two new roles: ℹ️Director of Research (£73,545 rising to £80,582) 💡Principal Energy Economist (£55,099 rising to £60,384) 📍London 🗓️Permanent, full-time (9 day fortnight) ⏰Deadline: 10AM GMT, 9 November Apply below 👇 www.common-wealth.org/about#vacanc...

common-wealth.orgCentrica Will Scrap Rough, It Should Be Nationalised InsteadOn why private ownership has failed to guarantee secure gas storage capacity.

As Britain braces itself for the largest energy bill increases since 2022, the closure of Rough gas storage risks making our energy system even more volatile. Read our new blog on why nationalising Rough can deliver security the market cannot 👇 www.common-wealth.org/publications...

Common Wealth reposted

Transition Security Project

@transitionsec.bsky.social

One year ago, @cmmonwealth.bsky.social and @cplusc.bsky.social founded Transition Security Project to investigate the UK & US military industrial complexes — and understand how they threaten our economies, climate and global safety. Here’s what we’ve been up to since then 🧵

Centrica wants to close Rough gas storage facility — a critical piece of energy infrastructure — because it isn't profitable.  The needs of the energy system are coming second to private incentives.  Public ownership of Rough can better guarantee a secure system.

national.thelead.ukThe Lead Untangles: Renationalising the water industryOur water is in crisis, the prime minister has now swung behind public ownership of it. What’s next?

“Public ownership is what 90% of the world does and what 82% of the British public want because they see the failures of privatisation.” “Crystal Clear,” our recent briefing on the roadmap to public water ownership, featured in @theleaduk.bsky.social 👇 national.thelead.uk/p/the-lead-u...

Common Wealth reposted

Transition Security Project

@transitionsec.bsky.social

NEW: Keir Starmer declared last year that the “peace dividend” was over, promoting the myth that Britain’s military spending has declined since the end of the Cold War. Our latest report shows this simply isn’t true. 🧵

common-wealth.orgMuddying the Water: A Reply to Hutton and HaldaneOn the dubious dismissal of the public ownership of water.

Control without ownership? Will Hutton & Andy Haldane have drawn up a plan to fix the UK water industry: introduce guardrails, but keep it in private hands. Chris Hayes explains why this is ill-founded – and why only public ownership can fix a broken system. www.common-wealth.org/publications...

thetimes.comWhat is Andy Burnham’s Great British Grid and how will it work?The prime minister wants to fire up the country’s energy system. But how effective can it be when its budget is tight?

The state has a lower cost of capital that will make it highly competitive. Competition should, over time, lower bills, speed up rollout and increase investment into the grid." @mathewlawrence.bsky.social in @thetimes.com on the plan for Great British Grid. www.thetimes.com/business/com...

theguardian.comHealey urged to offer energy support in budget as bills rise 4%Millions of people in Great Britain face increase from Thursday to an average of £1,723 a year for a typical home

Energy bills are set to rise for millions of households from Thursday. Our Director is part of a group of experts and campaigners that has written to the Chancellor, warning that “failure to take action would risk deepening the cost of living crisis.” www.theguardian.com/money/2026/o...

“One of the things we’re pushing for… is a ‘failure to prevent’ duty. This would ask companies to actively prevent things from happening, rather than just holding companies responsible after the fact.” Leela Jadhav on @channel4news.bsky.social about corporate accountability after Grenfell 👇

common-wealth.orgUnpunished and Undeterred: Corporate Accountability After GrenfellLegal frameworks governing corporate malpractice are not fit for purpose.

Nine years after Grenfell, the Met Police is filing charges against some of the companies involved. Read our report on Arconic — the company that produced the cladding behind the fire — to understand how these companies dodged accountability for so long. www.common-wealth.org/publications...

cmmonwealth.substack.comWhy Public Ownership of Water is Better than Alternative ProposalsAn extract from our new briefing “Crystal Clear”.

"As the Prime Minister declared in Liverpool: privatisation of the water industry in England has failed. Debate is now not whether change is needed, but in what form." Read an extract from our new briefing "Crystal Clear" on our Substack: cmmonwealth.substack.com/p/why-public...

cmmonwealth.substack.comCommon Wealth | SubstackWe design ownership models for a democratic and sustainable economy. Click to read Common Wealth, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.

And to stay in the loop with updates from Common Wealth, subscribe to our Substack here 👇 cmmonwealth.substack.com?r=96hggc&utm...

“If done well, this could be a win-win. It could speed up the grid, make returns flow better to the public, and help lower energy costs for businesses and households.” @mathewlawrence.bsky.social discusses Andy Burnham’s new plan for a public electricity grid company on BBC Scotland👇

"The jury's out as to what [Burnham's water announcement] will actually mean, but it is a step forwards for what I think the public want, which is taking water back... into public hands." Our director @mathewlawrence.bsky.social rounded up of the PM's speech at Labour Party Conference to BBC News.

theguardian.comWhat is Burnham’s GB Grid plan and could it bring down energy bills?Proposed government-backed network body welcomed by some in sector but others call it just another quango

Britain “is one of the only countries to have fully privatised its grid... but today’s announcement can help rebuild state capacity in energy, learning by doing”. @mathewlawrence.bsky.social in the @theguardian.com on the GB Grid plan. www.theguardian.com/business/202...

bbc.co.ukAndy Burnham to unveil public body to invest in electricity gridThe prime minister will say he wants to reduce energy costs in his first conference speech as Labour leader.

Britain’s privatisation of the energy grid has led to “decades of sluggish development and chronic underinvestment. [Burnham] seems to have fixed that by bringing in public investment into new parts of the grid.” Our Director @mathewlawrence.bsky.social for BBC News👇 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

common-wealth.orgCrystal Clear: the Solutions for Clean, Running WaterThe clearest and most cost-effective route to genuine public control of England's water is through public ownership.

In England, nearly all rivers and beaches are polluted, taps run dry and trillions of litres of water are leaked each year. Yet, we pay some of the highest water bills in Europe. Our new report shows how this system is fixable through public ownership. 🧵 www.common-wealth.org/publications...

Some have proposed “mutualisation” models — ownership by customers, workers, or both. This would improve on our current system but will leave water companies tied to high borrowing costs to fund urgent investment.

common-wealth.orgCrystal Clear: the Solutions for Clean, Running WaterThe clearest and most cost-effective route to genuine public control of England's water is through public ownership.

Nearly 90 per cent of water in wealthy democracies is publicly owned. England doesn’t have to accept polluted rivers, leaking pipes and high bills. Public ownership offers the best way to fix this system. Read our new briefing to find out why. www.common-wealth.org/publications...

common-wealth.orgCrystal Clear: the Solutions for Clean, Running WaterThe clearest and most cost-effective route to genuine public control of England's water is through public ownership.

In 2019, Moody’s estimated a one-off cost of £14.5 billion in 2019 to bring water into public ownership. This report estimates that in 2026, public ownership using special administration of failing water companies will cost closer to £0.

Under the current privatised system, billpayers pay £4.4bn a year (£176 per household) in returns on capital to shareholders and banks, even though bills have been sufficient to finance investment every year since 1993, and debt has overwhelmingly been issued to pay dividends.

common-wealth.orgCrystal Clear: the Solutions for Clean, Running WaterThe clearest and most cost-effective route to genuine public control of England's water is through public ownership.

Since privatisation in 1989, shareholders have taken over £85.2 billion in dividends. This is money that could’ve gone into fixing pipes, improving sewage treatments and investing in our infrastructure. Instead, capital has been extracted from the system.

Relentlessly, water polluter lobbyists have argued public ownership would cost £90 billion in 2018, £100 billion in 2024 and now £144 billion in 2026. This figures, though very effective in scaring governments, have no basis in reality or law.

common-wealth.orgCrystal Clear: the Solutions for Clean, Running WaterThe clearest and most cost-effective route to genuine public control of England's water is through public ownership.

82 per cent of the British public support the public ownership of water — the most cost-effective option for bill payers. But what would it cost?

common-wealth.orgBack In-House: The Case for Ending OutsourcingGovernment outsourcing has channelled public money into private profit, at the expense of workers’ rights, democratic accountability and service quality. Bringing services back in-house should be the ...

We were told outsourcing would transform our public services. But the reality has been far from the pitch. Our new report, in collaboration with @unison.org.uk and @rmtunion.bsky.social, outlines why insourcing is needed across the public sector. www.common-wealth.org/publications...

Outsourced workers tend to have lower wages and more insecure working arrangements than those directly employed. RMT research on outsourcing in rail has also shown how much it has driven racial and skill-level segregations in the workforce of train operating companies.

Labour has already committed to ending the era of “outsourcing by default”. This commitment must be met with action. Our new report outlines the steps needed to make this vital shift. Follow the Insource Now campaign: www.insourcenow.co.uk

We estimate that between 2019/20 and 2023/24 they made £34 billion in revenue and £1.5 billion in operating profits from public contracts alone.

The quality of services has not improved or worsened — The Institute for Government argued that this is due to the fragmentation of services from outsourcing — with a detrimental effect on quality.

The evidence of any of the promised benefits of outsourcing are lacking. In 2014, a report from the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee concluded that, “[s]o far, the contracting out of services has led to the evolution of privately-owned public monopolies”

The outsourcing Big Six — Mitie, Serco, OCS, Sodexo, ISS and G4S — the six largest outsourcing monopolies, depend on public contracts for their profits as much as the state depends on them for public service delivery.

Today, private companies are involved in everything from collecting bins on behalf of local authorities and early-years childcare to providing school meals and running IT systems for the NHS.

Our analysis finds the outsourcing of public services reached 11 per cent of total public spending, or £128 billion, in 2024/25. Just over a third of outsourcing is in the health and social care sectors.

Outsourcing gained momentum in the 1980s as private companies were increasingly contracted to deliver in the public sector. Typically, this began with work not in direct interaction with service users such as IT, building care and cleaning.

Common Wealth reposted

luma.comHigh Society: Winners and Losers in the New Drug Economy with Kojo Koram · LumaHigh Society: Winners and Losers in the New Drug Economy Britain is in the grip of a drug crisis. We have one of the highest drug death rates in Europe. More…

1 Sept

Join @kojokoram.bsky.social and @sarahsteinlubrano.bsky.social to discuss who wins and who loses as Britain's relationship with drugs is remade and, as cannabis and psychedelics move towards commercialisation, who really owns the emerging drug economy. luma.com/c672tszx

prospectmagazine.co.ukAndy Burnham’s great power struggleThe prime minister has a theory of power, its abuses and imbalances. But there is a major gap in his analysis

8 Sept

“Arconic, whose flammable cladding encased the tower, has done more to compensate its shareholders than the survivors and the bereaved”. Our report on corporate accountability after Grenfell — Unpunished and Undeterred — in @prospectmagazine.co.uk www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/lab...