ABSTRACT
The legal arrangements for utility regulation in the UK, then, suffered from an oversimplified and economistic conception of the regulatory task, from an unduly narrow bilateral conception of the regulators’ relationship with other interests, and from a refusal to learn from overseas experience. Yet the practice of regulators has been significantly different from what this legal model would suggest. Indeed, it could be argued (with backing from regulators’ speeches) that in practice a different, stakeholder model of regulation has characterised at least some of the processes actually adopted. This is only a partial form of participation and some interests have been excluded. Nevertheless, it does suggest not only that the legal model was inadequate to meet moral demands for participation, but that it was, in a strict form, unworkable. As the water regulator has put it, after rejecting the concept of a ‘regulatory contract’ between regulator and regulated firm:
The implication is that a different style of regulation is required to reflect these different perceptions.
