Time to Grid and share it

Fury as firms pay out billions in dividends

PRIVATISED firms have dished out £37billion in dividends to shareholders since 2010, figures from Labour have revealed.

Energy, water and rail companies, formed from the sell-off of public assets, handed £4.8bn to investors this year alone.

Labour Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said the findings support renationalising vital services.

One firm Labour wants to bring back under public ownership is National Grid, which has paid more than £10bn in dividends since 2010, according to research conducted in consultation with the House of Commons Library.

British Gas owner Centrica has paid £5.2bn and telecoms giant BT £6.3bn. Water companies have also proved rich picking for investors. Nine firms in Labour’s research have paid a combined £13.4bn in dividends since 2010.

Royal Mail was only privatised in 2014 but has already dished out £635million in dividends.

Another target for Labour is the railways.

Ten firms in the list have paid out a combined £1.3bn since 2010. McDonnell will say in a speech today: “The last seven years of austerity has seen working families suffer from stagnant wages not being able to keep up with prices of items such as energy bills, and underfunded public services – yet billions has gone into the hands of shareholders.”