A Fair Deal for Clean Water
Our water systems have not been protected, and companies have been allowed to pollute our rivers and seas while hiking our water bills. In the Thames and other rivers and waterways throughout our constituency, sewage spills happen nearly every day.
Thames Water has been plunged into chaos with the sacking of a CEO, debts rising to a reported £18bn, and now in talks with the government over its possible collapse.
It is the biggest water firm in the country, supplying over 15 million people, and its collapse has been codenamed “Project Timber” within the government due to the catastrophic impact it could have. A Special Administration should be implemented to ensure those damaging effects would not happen.
The Conservatives have allowed:
- Pollution and Price Hikes: The Conservatives have allowed water companies to pollute our rivers and seas with raw sewage and raise our water bills without investing in the water system.
- Thames Water Mismanagement: Thames Water has pumped raw sewage into our rivers for thousands of hours this year, even on dry days. This pollution is making people sick.
- Financial Misconduct: For years, Thames Water paid out more in dividends than it invested in the network, saddling the company with debt and bringing it to the brink of bankruptcy. The regulator, OFWAT, did nothing to stop them.
- Proposed Price Increase: Now, Thames Water is proposing to raise prices by 60% over five years.
A Fair Deal on Water
Olly and the Liberal Democrats are committed to providing a fair deal that offers real support to customers:
- Block Price Increases: The Lib Dems would block the proposed 60% price increase.
- Public Benefit Companies: Transform water companies into public benefit companies that prioritize the needs of consumers over shareholders.
The Conservatives’ obsession with the market has corrupted the basic public service of providing clean water. We need to change this system to protect our environment and our health.