Oxfordshire’s Lib Dem MPs react to water bill rise: “Scrap Ofwat and start again”

Responding to the news that Thames Water customers’ bills are set to rise by 35% before inflation, to an average annual bill of £588 by 2029/30, Oxfordshire MPs Layla Moran, Olly Glover, Charlie Maynard, Calum Miller, Freddie van Mierlo said:

“Let’s be clear, this is a scandal that has been ignored by successive governments who have sat back and watched Thames Water’s ailing performance, plunging themselves into unprecedented levels of debt and leaving customers to pay the bill.

“It’s outrageous that Thames Water have been allowed to increase bills despite polluting our rivers with gallons of sewage, and failing to invest in leaky infrastructure whilst bosses were awarded £770,000 in bonuses.

"Customers should not have to pay for Thames Water's financial mismanagement. Thames Water should not be raising bills to bail out its investors and pay for the almost £16 billion of debt it has got itself into.

“Oxfordshire’s Lib Dems have long led the campaign to end this crisis. We urge the government to finally scrap Ofwat and start again with a new effective regulator to hold water companies accountable. It’s unacceptable that Oxfordshire’s residents have been left to foot the bill for Thames Water’s gross incompetence.”