Claim 11703d50Checked 09 Jul 2026
Partly True/FalseOn the truth scale
“You do not seem concerned that much of our infrastructure is foreign-owned now.”
Reasoning & Evidence09 Jul 2026
The claim is broadly supported in the sense that UK government material later estimated foreign ownership/shareholding of UK infrastructure at around 40%, and it gave examples of sizeable foreign stakes in assets such as HS1, Thames Water, Heathrow, and Northumbrian Water. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) But the wording is too sweeping: the 2011 National Infrastructure Plan described a mixed public/private funding model rather than a uniformly foreign-owned system, and major infrastructure such as rail track remained under Network Rail’s ownership and control. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) The 2013 House of Lords debate also noted that detailed ownership figures were not held, which makes the exact scope of “much” hard to pin down. (hansard.parliament.uk) Sources: UKTI/HM Treasury, *Investing in UK Infrastructure*; HM Treasury, *National Infrastructure Plan 2011*; House of Lords Hansard, *Critical National Infrastructure: Ownership*. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
From article
Why are you so focused on the threat from Brussels? You don’t seem to be concerned, for example, that most of our media are foreign-owned – and now much of our infrastructure, too. You don’t seem concerned about the transatlantic threat of homogenisation, either – the extent to which British culture is becoming –
Sources opened+ 89 search hits considered
| [1] | parliament.uk |
| [2] | gov.uk |
| [3] | hansard.parliament.uk |
| [4] | assets.publishing.service.gov.uk |
| [5] | gov.uk |
| [6] | assets.publishing.service.gov.uk |
| [7] | assets.publishing.service.gov.uk |
| [8] | gov.uk |