Managing Policy Change in Britain: The Politics of Water

In recent years, one sector of public policy vital to everyday life has seen major organisational policy changes: water supply. In Scotland, there was a contentious hybrid reorganisation; in England and Wales, the privatisation controversey, and the long process leading up to its stockmarket flotation and subsequent regulation. These are among the areas examined in this analysis of a vital utility. Against a background of increasingly Europeanised policy-making, the water sector has become much more open, more contentious, drawing a wider range of interests and ideas into the policy process than at any other time. Thus, this study illustrates that both privatisation and increasing EC influence have shifted water policy from the private management of public business to the public management of private business. It remains a sector inspiring controversy and conflict over the salaries of its senior executives, increased water charges, and public concern over levels of water pollution in Britain.