High water bills, filthy rivers – and now drought. This is England's great artificial water crisis of 2025 | George Monbiot

In its refusal to renationalise water, it’s clear the government operates in the interests of private capital and not of the countryFor a rich and fairly stable country, we are staggeringly ill-prepared for climate shocks. We respond to predictable crises as if we had had no warning. Lessons from previous disasters go unlearned, mistakes are recycled, failures lodged so deeply that they come to define the system.This is not because of a deficiency in the national character, but because of a deficiency in the ideology of government: an elite belief, shared by scarcely any citizens, that public intervention should be used only when all other measures have failed. Until that point, our problems should be addressed by the private sector. As drought rolls across the country once again, England’s privatised water system guarantees an irrational response.George Monbiot is a Guardian columnistOn Tuesday 16 September, join George Monbiot, Mikaela Loach and other special guests discussing the forces driving climate denialism, live at the Barbican in London and livestreamed globally. Book tickets here or at Guardian.Live Continue reading...

Comments

Opinions

Comments

Similar News

Fightback for Square Mile: Change is happening - but a high tax economy doesn't help, says ALEX BRUMMER

Contributor: Why California won't give up the dream of high-speed rail

Contributor: Why are high school boys drawn to the manosphere?

MATCH POINT: A Wimbledon final for the ages, late night chaos and tennis' answer to Max Verstappen... Mail Sport reviews the highs and lows of a frustrating season

Opinions

Letters to the Editor: State leaders must fill the environment void left by the Trump administration

Why is Ryanair charging in pounds for items on a flight when the menu says euros? CRANE ON THE CASE

Trump defector tells me why Ghislaine Maxwell must now testify. It's time to name names... or else they're ALL going down: KENNEDY

My ultimate guide to having the best hair in 2025 - from the treatment worth investing in to the must-have beauty gadget: POLISHED with Elise Wilson

PETER VAN ONSELEN: How Xi buttered up Anthony Albanese with a VERY rare personal gesture to Jodie Haydon - and it left the PM beaming

Miranda Devine: Trump’s base wants the truth about Epstein — and many other injustices — whether prez cries ‘hoax’ or not

ANDREW NEIL: This breathtaking Afghan scandal risks ripping asunder the contract of trust between voters and leaders without which democracy cannot survive

EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Royal Mail! Charles' visit for Holocaust survivor's 100th

Doubt over DOJ’s Epstein disclosure: Letters to the Editor — July 17, 2025

Mamdani’s anti-cop zealotry means crime and chaos for NYC — it’s all in his agenda

Let’s hope Kathy Hochul took notes as investors poured $100 billion into Pennsylvania for AI projects

New Butler shooting details expose the Secret Service’s shocking culture of incompetence

Collectors are snapping up anything and everything at auctions — like the ruby slippers from ‘Wizard of Oz’ for $32M

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews Bookish on U&Alibi: Foyle's War fan? Then try Gatiss's eccentric bookshop-owning sleuth

TSA can’t admit the truth: Why its stupid shoe rule never stood up to scrutiny

Xi Jinping is losing his grip on China— and Trump can give him a push

MLB’s ‘apology’ to Georgia, our party’s nuts to ‘welcome’ Zohran Mamdani and other commentary

A new 'shadow rivalry' has emerged in the war with Harry and Meghan. This peace summit was not all it seemed... and there's only one way it ends: MAUREEN CALLAHAN

QUENTIN LETTS: Kemi won a laugh at the PM's expense, popping his priggish pomposity

PETER HITCHENS: We must stop interfering in countries like Afghanistan and start focusing on home. This warmongering is making us poorer, unhappier and less British

Harry wants to reconcile with Royals but knows he must do it WITHOUT Meghan: As he walks through Diana minefield, friends say he's sick of being the 'bitter prince'... and hint why his wife isn't with him

JENNI MURRAY: Why no one would want to wear this T-shirt now... it's poisoned

Letters to the Editor: Should the response to heat waves be adaptation or sweeping changes?

Sir Clive Woodward: These are my 50 greatest Lions players of all time - who claims top spot?

Letters to the Editor: Democrats missed the chance to pass immigration reform years ago

Best of the Babylon Bee: GOP’s debt plan will transfer balance to 0% intro APR Capital One credit card

Contributor: Stunts in L.A. show Democratic states and cities that Trump's forces can invade anytime

How to tell if YOUR partner is a secret sex addict: Tracey Cox reveals 8 warning signs most women won't realise are red flags - and demanding sex from you isn't one of them

State education honchos must end New York’s race-based STEM admissions — once and for all

PETER VAN ONSELEN: Wait, what did Albo just say? Unsettling quote proves PM has become a mouthpiece for China - as mysterious power struggle in Xi's palace puts world at risk of WAR

ALEX BRUMMER: A reckless plan risks a return to boom and bust

Thank the Supreme Court for helping Trump return power over America’s schools to parents

Andrew Cuomo’s new plan to punish New Yorkers: He’s staying in the race

Love him or hate him —there’s never been a president like Donald Trump

DEAR JANE: I tried the new habit every woman on Instagram swears by. Help, it's killed my sex life!

DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Afghans being sneaked in is nothing short of sinister

Rise of Zohran Mamdani has Wall Street giving up on Gotham

Andrew Cuomo’s independent run: Letters to the Editor — July 16, 2025

The $90 billion AI investment Trump announced is an economic and national-security win

Bailey goes toe-to-toe with the Chancellor over her overriding growth mission, says ALEX BRUMMER

‘Mayor Mamdani’ is NOT a done deal — these voters hold the key

What Trump knows about ‘Superman’ — that Hollywood can’t comprehend

There is no ‘genocide’ in Gaza — why the claim equals Holocaust denial

How ‘charities,’ funded by your tax dollars, helped break immigration law

The anniversary of Trump’s near-fatal rally: Letters to the Editor — July 15, 2025

What Manchester City's £1BILLION Puma deal reveals about the result of 115 charges case - and why football insiders are resigned to it, writes IAN HERBERT

AMANDA PLATELL: Charles may forgive Harry and Meghan but hell will freeze over before William or Kate do.... and this is why

It's the 'miracle' sex drug that keeps men going all weekend... but women reveal the dark side of Cialis - Viagra's 'hot younger brother': JANA HOCKING

Letters to the Editor: We should be helping, not punishing, undocumented immigrant children

Kate and William's FURY at being blindsided by Harry and Meghan peace talks: Details revealed to RICHARD EDEN as Palace insiders disclose meeting detail that 'tells all you need to know'

Read the mind-boggling list of taxes Jim Chalmers could HIKE in the wake of explosive leak as the country's disturbing financial reality finally becomes clear: PETER VAN ONSELEN

That’s it, Big Bird — time for you, and PBS, to get off the Washington gravy train

Spade-like hands sent up a machine-gun clatter of applause from the public seats: QUENTIN LETTS watches MPs discuss the prosecution - the persecution - of Northern Ireland veterans

Eddie Redmayne gets green light for £4.25m country retreat 'forever home' - with massive 'overhaul' on the way: RICHARD EDEN'S DIARY

JAN MOIR: I tried Meghan's new overpriced 14.5% rose. This is what it proves about her and all her lofty social justice warrior plans

'Why aren't you helping us, Daddy?' The heartbreaking texts sent to Ioan Gruffudd 'from' his eldest daughter as his venomous split from Alice Evans hits new low... but is all what it seems? ALISON BOSHOFF

Biden’s ‘defense’ of aides who used his autopen speaks volumes about who was REALLY in charge

Bill O’Reilly’s latest book explores the origins of history’s most evil — from Putin to Hitler

Trump’s weapons deal for Ukraine plus new sanctions for Russia could be a game-changer

Mamdani’s worst threat: Unleashing City Council radicals’ wildest, wokest dreams