Oxfordshire’s Lib Dem MPs call for outright ban on water boss bonuses after Ofwat announcement

Oxfordshire’s Liberal Democrat MPs are calling on the Government to urgently enshrine an outright ban on bonuses for water company bosses in law.

It comes as Ofwat announced bans on three water companies using customer money to fund bonuses - a move that the Liberal Democrats do not believe goes far enough. The regulator’s Chief Executive has also admitted that water bills are likely to go up more than expected next month. 

Shockingly, Thames Water chief executive Chris Weston, who joined the company in January, received an eye-watering bonus of £195,000 for his first three months, taking his total pay for the period to £437,000.

In total, water firms paid a total of £9.3 million in bonuses over the last financial year, Ofwat admitted. The Liberal Democrats are pushing for changes to the Government’s Water (Special Measures) Bill, which would see a ban on water company bonuses until sewage spills end and leaks are fixed. 

Local Lib Dems have long raised concerns about the poor performance of Thames Water. The water company frequently pumps raw sewage into places like the River Evenlode at Combe and Moor Ditch in Didcot. This puts at risk protected areas with bathing status like Wolvercote Mill Stream in Oxford and even caused problems at the Henley Regatta. One resident in Faringdon had to wait 16 hours for a burst sewage pipe to be fixed while over 30,000 gallons of sewage was left to flow into their driveway and house.

On 20th November, Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords secured assurances from the government that Ofwat will ban bonuses when water companies have committed pollution incidents, including sewage spills.

Speaking afterwards, Liberal Democrat MPs Charlie Maynard, Calum Miller, Freddie van Mierlo, Olly Glover and Layla Moran said: 

“For far too long, our beautiful rivers in Oxfordshire have been pumped full of raw sewage by water firms putting profit before people. 

“The previous Conservative Government gave water companies a free pass to dump filth into our precious waterways while taking home eye-watering bonuses on top of already inflated salaries.

“The Government now needs to listen to the Liberal Democrats and finally put a stop to it, by prioritising the Water (Special Measures) Bill in Parliament and enshrining a ban on bonuses as quickly as possible.

“Those who actively wreck local environments in Oxfordshire and across the country should not be rewarded for doing so. Enough is enough.”