The UK is stuck in Groundhog Day; we’re bringing together expert speakers to discuss the solution
Britain is trapped in a Groundhog Day of our own making. Last week it emerged that millions of litres of raw sewage were recently dumped into one of Britain’s most famous lakes in the Lake District. As if on cue, two days later The Guardian reported that United Utilities, the company responsible for the spill, had increased investor payouts the very day after the sewage leak was revealed.
Nothing speaks of a broken system like the brazen financial reward for catastrophe, and yet, the far bigger scandal is just how shockingly familiar this narrative has become. The drip feed of headlines in recent years about public scandal means these stories now simply fail to shock.
The very same day that the Windermere sewage story broke, Unite the Union published evidence of widespread profiteering during the cost of living crisis. This analysis of 17,000 UK companies, from banks to shipping firms to veterinary practices, found pre-tax profit margins were 30% higher on average in 2022 compared with the average across 2018 and 2019.
Backtrack a week and P&O Ferries were in the hot seat again as Chair of Parliament’s Business and Trade Committee, Liam Byrne, gave their CEO, Peter Hebblethwaite, a grilling on the ethics of employing staff on £4.87 per hour whilst taking home just over half a million pounds.
The cycle goes on; it covers everything from environmental abuse to public procurement fraud. The problem is that since 2010, steep budget cuts for regulators as well as falling staff numbers has resulted in serious declines in enforcement activity. What’s more, recent research from Violation Tracker shows we are now lagging significantly behind the US on this.
Many across the country hope that a change of government will offer a break from this cycle. According to Chris Hopkins, a leading pollster, most voters want the UK’s approach to regulation to move in a more progressive direction. This presents a critical opportunity to influence the terms of the debate and set the future direction of government.
That’s why Unchecked UK and Good Jobs First (creators of Violation Tracker UK) are bringing together influential figures from across the political spectrum on June 6th to discuss the erosion of the UK’s regulatory safeguards and what we can do to remedy it.
Liam Byrne has kindly agreed to give Peter Hebblethwaite the day off and has offered to be our headline speaker on the day. He’ll be interviewed by Chris Giles, economics commentator at the Financial Times, capping off a day of important discussions on workers’ rights, environmental protections, holding the City accountable, and more.
The conference will be at Broadway House and there are a limited number of spaces left so be sure to sign up!