The man who replaced him in parliament, the former labour minister bill rammell. As always, i want to hear from you. Its a crucial part of the programme. Email me, mail margaret gbnews. Com. But now its part the its your favourite part of the day. News polly day. The news from polly middlehurst. Jacob thank you and good evening to you, will. The top story from the newsroom tonight is that lord cameron has told his israeli counterpart today that major changes must be made to the safety of aid to ensure the safety of aid workers in gaza. The israeli Prime Minister benjamin netanyahu, describing the killing of seven aid workers, which included three british nationals, as tragic and unintended. He said they were delivering vital food supplies, travelling in two armoured cars marked with the words third world central kitchen. The aid group claims the attack was carried out despite them coordinating their movements with the israeli military. But the Prime Minister rishi sunak, says the work of aid organisations must be protected. Theyre doing fantastic work bringing alleviation to the suffering that many are experiencing in gaza. They experiencing in gaza. They should be praised and commended for what theyre doing. They need to be allowed to do that work unhindered. And its incumbent on israel to make sure that they can do that. And were asking israel to investigate what happened urgently, because clearly that clearly there are questions that need to be answered. Rishi now comments made rishi sunak now comments made about scotlands new hate crime law and posted a social media by the author, j. K. Rowling are not criminal, according to Police Scotland. This afternoon, the new law seeks to ban hatred against people on certain grounds. But against people on certain grounds. But the harry potter author says it risks silencing genuine debate on issues around gender as well as ignoring the rights of women and girls. Well, the Prime Minister has come out today and backed jk rowlings concerns, saying that people shouldnt be criminalised for stating simple biological fact. Stating simple biological fact. The cost of a postage stamp went up today as royal mail moved to address a drop in demand. A first class stamp will set you back £1. 35. Thats a rise of £0. 10. And its the same increase for a second class stamp, which now costs £0. 85. 12 months ago, a first class stamp cost just £0. 95. Its the fourth price rise in just two years and comes after warnings that lower demand for postage is pushing up costs for royal mail. And costs for royal mail. And lastly, if youve ever gone incognito while using the internet on Google Chrome browser, then your private information may still have been taken by the tech giant. But now, thanks to a us court ruling, google will be forced to delete all private user data, which wasnt supposed to have been tracked. And despite the case being filed in the states , case being filed in the states, the judgement will also apply internationally, including here internationally, including here in the uk. Google initially dismissed the merits of the case. Thats the news. For the latest stories, sign up to gb news alerts. Scan the qr code on your screen or go to gb news. Com slash alerts. Com slash alerts. Well, thank you very much. Its very nice to be back. Having taken maundy thursday and the bank holiday off. And thank you to the people who stood in for me whilst i was away. But now back to the monologue and thames water, thames water, the United Kingdoms largest water suppuen United Kingdoms largest water supplier, allowed to supplier, must be allowed to fail. Thames water has used complex Financial Engineering to pay complex Financial Engineering to pay very large dividends to its shareholders. It borrowed shareholders. It borrowed heavily and it borrowed using Interest Rates linked to inflation and inflation, then took off. It was rip roaring inflation, so they faced very high costs. Basically thames water, its owners, made dud investments. Now this is not inherently immoral. But when a complex financing scheme fails, its the shareholders and the bondholders who should take the hit, not the consumer. The shares are now probably worthless and according to a report i read in the times last week, the bonds are trading at 15 of face value. That means that if you invested a pound, youve only got £0. 15 left and 85 lost. Now insolvency simply allows the normal process of the free market to take place. The assets are still there. The sewage plants, the water pipes , sewage plants, the water pipes, theyre all there and they have value and they could be bought by other investors, and the bondholders would get some of their back. The other their money back. The other creditors get of creditors would get some of their money but the their money back, but the shareholders wiped out shareholders would be wiped out altogether. This could, in altogether. And this could, in fact reduce the price of water in london because the capital in the company would decline as some of the excess debt was straightforwardly written off, allowing the new owners to make allowing the new owners to make a reasonable, regulated return on a monopoly business. Which is why the regulation is far on this lower level of capital. On this lower level of capital. On this new basis , few funds could this new basis, few funds could be raised for further investment to stop leaks and to stop the sewage problems. There would be no interruption to supply, no risk to consumers and probably a better, more strongly capitalised company. So there is capitalised company. So there is no need for a bailout. I always think bailing out a Water Company sounds particularly odd because when you bail out, you take water out, but leaving that to one side, it would also not be a disincentive to further overseas investment. In my overseas investment. In my business career, i dealt with overseas investors and they know that sometimes their investments go. Thats part of go wrong. Thats part of investment. They wouldnt have been cheated in way. They been cheated in any way. They wouldnt been down wouldnt have been dumbed down by theyd have just by regulation. Theyd have just made. And foreign and made a mistake. And foreign and domestic know domestic investors know that some investors go bad, some are mistakes. Thames water became a bad investment not because of the Regulatory Environment , not the Regulatory Environment, not because the customers went away, but because of the greed of the shareholders and their own bad decisions. So they deserve no quarter , and the consequences of quarter, and the consequences of insolvency will perfectly insolvency will be perfectly routine. You should not have to pay a routine. You should not have to pay a penny as ever. Let me know your thoughts. Mail margaret gb news. Com but im joined now by former labour mp Stephen Pound , former labour mp Stephen Pound, who is known for his degree in industrial and action studies. Stephen thank you for coming in. Now my solution is the free Market Solution insolvency by out company continues. So jacob, i couldnt disagree more. Can we agree on one thing . Margaret thatcher was a patriot. Yes. You think for one minute yes. Do you think for one minute she wouldnt be spinning like a top in her grave if she knew that our water, our god given water in this country, has been flogged off to a bunch of shiny suhed flogged off to a bunch of shiny suited spivs in financial towers of somewhere. Whats of babel somewhere. And whats the flowing at the only thing thats flowing at the only thing thats flowing at the effluvia into our the moment is effluvia into our rivers profits into the rivers and huge profits into the bulging pockets of the shareholders. Cannot be right shareholders. It cannot be right. It cannot be right for our water be a source of profit water to be a source of profit to people who have no interest in responsibility, no in social responsibility, no interest in what happens to our chalk streams, our beaches and our theyre duty. Our rivers. Theyre simple duty. Their their utter their legal duty, their utter bounden to maximise the bounden duty is to maximise the returns their shareholders. Returns for their shareholders. Think Margaret Thatcher returns for their shareholders. The< Margaret Thatcher returns for their shareholders. The delighted thatcher returns for their shareholders. The delighted that tcher returns for their shareholders. The delighted that billions would be delighted that billions of come in from of pounds have come in from overseas. Has reduced the overseas. That has reduced the amount sewage spillage that amount of sewage spillage that takes the takes place, has reduced the number leaks and isnt the number of leaks and isnt the case. Number of leaks and isnt the cas look, at france, look at look, look at france, look at germany for gods look at scotland. But i think you also miss out international capital. Take wessex water in my part the wessex water in my part of the world in somerset, which is owned ytl, a malaysian owned by ytl, a Malaysian Company business i company in my business days, i had shareholding ytl for uk had a shareholding in ytl for uk pension funds. So the uk owned a malaysian asset that owned a uk asset. Money goes round the globe. Dont think thats globe. I dont think thats unpatriotic, nick. Thats a unpatriotic, nick. Thats just a good balancing risk. But good way of balancing risk. But who should own water . Should it be private sector and be in the private sector and subject to private sector disciplines . Or would you like to go back to the 1970s . No, i would like to go forward this coming century, forward to this coming century, and id like to what theyve and id like to do what theyve done germany france. Done in germany and france. Theyve decided that water is just too important to be just too damned important to be given sold off to macquarie, given and sold off to macquarie, or of hedge fund or some group of Hedge Fund Managers australia managers in australia or california. We cant california. Look, if we cant actually a situation actually get a situation where we avoid your old university, cant run the boat race properly because of the danger of ingesting the thames, ingesting e coli on the thames, theres radically theres something radically wrong far as i can wrong here. And as far as i can see, to try to impose a capitalist solution this capitalist solution on this to overregulate, isnt overregulate, it simply isnt going problem with your going to the problem with your argument, jacob is that argument, sirjacob is that youre assuming there youre assuming that there are huge numbers there huge numbers of people there with capital that are with liquid capital that are liquid prepared invest liquid liquid prepared to invest in is, effect, a busted in what is, in effect, a busted flush. We sorry we cant flush. Sorry, we sorry we cant you youre getting worse you know, youre getting worse and sorry. I didnt and worse. Im sorry. I didnt mean know, invest in mean that. You know, invest in this because in all honesty, you know, i that theres know, and i know that theres going be a turning the screw going to be a turning the screw and regulation. Inevitably, therell it therell be more regulation. It will less attractive. And will become less attractive. And adam years ago, adam smith said 200 years ago, if monopolies do if you remember, monopolies do not customer. They do not serve the customer. They do not serve the customer. They do not consumer. Not serve the customer. They do not thats consumer. Not serve the customer. They do not thats right. Nsumer. Not serve the customer. They do not thats right. And1er. Not serve the customer. They do not thats right. And thats why thats right. And thats why regulation because you regulation is fair, because you cant them investing. You cant have them investing. You cant have them investing. You cant competition between cant have competition between Water Companies because of the cost infrastructure. The cost of the infrastructure. The real is providing the real cost is not providing the water, building the water, but is building the infrastructure. And infrastructure. Yes. And therefore you regulate the return. Of that return return. And out of that return the Financial Engineering goes on macquarie and the on and macquarie and the successor investors just messed up the Financial Engineering. Up the Financial Engineering. Theyre still entitled to a perfectly reasonable return. Im sorry. At the moment theyve taken a gamble, theyve taken a risk and thats what it is. Theyve taken a risk and that has blown up in their face. And i agree with that. And therefore should pay and therefore they should pay the of that. The cost of that. We perhaps agree on the can we perhaps agree on the one thing that you and i, as shareholders in uk plc should not having perhaps not be having to pay, perhaps agree with that. Thames water customers and thames water customers shouldnt to pay either. Shouldnt have to pay either. Absolutely. Shouldnt have to pay either. Absolutheyre talking about so theyre talking about thames talking so theyre talking about thamea talking so theyre talking about thamea 40 talking so theyre talking about thamea 40 increase. Alking about a 40 increase. Monstrous. Em em and look they cannot get their sorted out. Weve their supply sorted out. Weve still victorian weve still got victorian pipes. Weve got bazalgette got more to thank. Bazalgette for water. Were in for than thames water. Were in a situation. A ridiculous situation. About to do theyre about to do their major sewer thats nearing completion, the completion, which will be the biggest sewer since the biggest sewer built since the days bastille. Days of bastille. Thats one thing. And the thats the one thing. And the thames tideway which is, thames tideway tunnel, which is, you brilliant. Im you know, its brilliant. Im all favour it, that is all in favour of it, but that is all in favour of it, but that is a tiny, tiny proportion of the problem the problem that we have. The overflow, the outflow into the thames. The hampshire thames. Look at the hampshire chalk down your chalk streams. Look at down your part world. Look. Whats part of the world. Look. Whats the effluvia . The place is reeking the mephitic fug of reeking with the mephitic fug of filth actually floating. Filth thats actually floating. You clouding these lovely, filth thats actually floating. You rivers. Ouding these lovely, filth thats actually floating. You rivers. Itsng these lovely, filth thats actually floating. You rivers. Its outrageous. ely, sweet rivers. Its outrageous. But feargal sharkey. W that actually predates privatisation. Decision privatisation. Thats a decision made middle of 19th made in the middle of the 19th century have single sewer, century to have a single sewer, for water and for for foul water and for rainwater. And weve had a lot of rain over the last year. Yeah, but germany and france and said, and even and i and as i said, and even and i find it impossible to say this without scotland, without a smirk, even scotland, whove keep whove decided to actually keep it ownership, do not it in public ownership, do not have you do not have that problem. You do not get issue in germany, you get this issue in germany, you do get the issue in do not get the issue in scotland. I mean, amazingly, its one the few things that its one of the few things that works its one of the few things that worscotland will be coming onto scotland will be coming onto onto prefer onto later, but you prefer a nationalisation answer rather than public ownership. Than i prefer public ownership. So the god gives us so where does the god gives us the water . The water belongs us. The water belongs to us. It belongs people. Should belongs to the people. It should not to the vampire not be belong to the vampire squid venture. The water belong to god, the water may belong to god, but pipes dont, do they . But the pipes dont, do they . Some would say everything does, all do. Does, but well, we all do. But pipes are not god but the pipes are not god given. Theyre invested. People have to spend money them have to spend money putting them in either most them given either most of them were there thames water were there before thames water took and what thames water took over, and what thames water are is, is making are doing now is, is making meant patching the meant theyre patching the system for the thames system except for the thames tideway, actually replaced. Thames the thames tideway is a pretty project. Many pretty big project. Many billions pounds. Billions of pounds. One. Yeah, but thats one one. Yeah, but its enormous system. Its its one enormous system. Its about money that about 14 of the money that theyve put in the theyve actually put in the pockets the shareholders. Pockets of the shareholders. They deserve and thats why they deserve to go bankrupt. 86 that money should have 86 of that money should have been on the infrastructure. It interesting . I mean, isnt it interesting . I mean, this coincidence, but the this pure coincidence, but the bonds apparently at bonds apparently trading at 15 in the which represents bonds apparently trading at 15 in th the person that im so youre the person that im desperately promoting the desperately promoting as the next and i think next james bond. And i think youre brilliant. Under fire, but fairly good but youre fairly good at defending respect, defending what with all respect, i utterly indefensible. I think is utterly indefensible. Well, there go. Yeah, well, there we go. Thank you very stephen. Thank you very much, stephen. Coming jk rowling has dared coming up. Jk rowling has dared police after Police Scotland to come after her gender critical her for her gender critical views. Question is, what views. The question is, what happens i break the scottish happens if i break the scottish hate whilst hate law from england whilst its broadcast scotland, hate law from england whilst its brlegalst scotland, hate law from england whilst its brlegalst england . D, hate law from england whilst its brlegalst england . Dont while legal in england . Dont forget assessing the forget well be assessing the latest step of labours march through the institutions of britain.