Labour’s plan to put workers on boards of power firms after they are re-nationalised

Labour will on Monday set out radical plans to put workers on the boards of nationalised industries.

John McDonnell will unveil plans to begin the process of nationalising water and energy companies within the first 100 days of a Labour government.

The Shadow Chancellor will outline how each nationalised company will be governed by a board containing four elected worker representatives.

The boards will also consist of elected politicians, four ‘citizen representatives’ and just three non-executive directors chosen by the company itself.

Mr McDonnell will say: ‘In our first 100 days we will start the process of bringing water and energy into public ownership. We’ll set up boards to run them made of you, the customer, and you, the worker, as well as representatives from local councils, metro mayors and others.

‘We’ll make sure decisions are taken locally by those who understand the services – those who use them and deliver them.’

As well as water and energy firms, Labour has outlined plans to nationalise rail companies, the Royal Mail and Openreach, the broadband arm of British Telecom.

Last night a report from the Institute of Economic Affairs think-tank, said calls to bring key utilities under state control ‘ignore important lessons’ from the post-war period. 

As well as water and energy firms, Labour has outlined plans to nationalise rail companies, the Royal Mail and Openreach, the broadband arm of British Telecom

One of the authors, Professor Len Shackleton, said: ‘The public’s dissatisfaction with some aspects of the performance of privatised utilities should not lead us to forget the lessons of decades under nationalisation.

‘Taking these industries back into the public sector would reduce consumer choice and innovation, while holding back productivity and boosting the power of trade unions and other unrepresentative pressure groups.’ 

Another think-tank, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, warned last week that the plans could cost billions, could be hugely disruptive – and could hit pensions funds if the owners were not properly compensated.