MPs call for public ownership of water

Brighton Pavilion’s Green MP, Caroline Lucas, has tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) in support of public ownership of water.

Tabled on 8 May, EDM 738 reads: 

“That this House condemns the mismanagement and underinvestment which led to untreated sewage being discharged into English waterways for more than 3.6 million hours in 2023; notes that water companies in England have incurred debts of more than £64 billion and paid out £78 billion in dividends since they were privatised debt-free in 1989; further notes that water companies paid out £1.4 billion in dividends in 2022, even as 11 of them were fined in the same year for missing performance targets; recognises that climate change is making flooding and droughts more frequent and more severe, necessitating changes to the way we manage our water system in order to build resilience; believes that a Government bailout of Thames Water would send a dangerous signal to other utility companies that reckless decisions carry no private risk; urges Ofwat to reject Thames Water’s request to be allowed to increase bills and limit fines to protect its finances, which would reward mismanagement at the expense of customers and the public; further believes that private for-profit ownership is not an appropriate model for water, as an essential utility where no meaningful competition is possible; calls on the Government to put Thames Water into special administration and to transfer its assets and functions to a publicly-owned company; and further calls for all the English water companies to be brought into public ownership so that our water network can be managed for the benefit of all citizens.”

As of 12 May, the motion had been signed by 14 MPs, a mixture of Labour, SNP, other parties and independents.