Update - 25th August:

The Times reports that Andy Burnham is pausing plans to take Thames Water into Special Administration. Prime Minister, it’s your choice: who do you choose to support - UK bill payers or US hedge funds? Choose the right side.

What's happening?

Right now, Thames Water's creditors are racing to keep the utility privatised as their finances collapse. Their latest tactic is to propose overhauling their Board. And this week The Times has reported that the government is "conducting further work to establish if there is a “viable option” for putting the company into administration, but it is likely to take several months."

BUT...every day they delay gives the creditors more time to exert pressure and broker a deal which allows them to keep hold of their valuable assets.

The context:

We call on Andy Burnham to stand up for the 16 million people who have no choice but to use Thames Water, a company which has poured sewage into our rivers and extracted £12.9 billion for faraway shareholders since privatisation in 1989. Last year, Thames Water increased households’ bills by an average of 40%.

Thames Water went BUST nearly two years ago so its shareholders do not need compensation.

The creditors (a group of US hedge funds) were expecting a haircut of at least 40% two years ago, under the Conservative government. The situation has dramatically worsened since then. We can write off significantly more.

Thames Water’s creditors are currently negotiating with Ofwat to take over the utility. Former Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds has already objected to the creditors’ proposal, as it does not protect the interests of households.

Now, the creditors are putting forward a last-ditch attempt to keep the utility in private hands. They're suggesting that a governmental 'golden share' and a 'local public control supervisory structure' would give the public greater control over the utility. Over 10,000 members of the public have already written to new Environment Secretary Angela Eagle to tell her that the 'control' offered by the creditors is nothing more than an illusion.

Without the creditors’ offer, it is highly likely that Thames Water will run out of money and fall into special administration. From there, this government must bring it into permanent public ownership.

Under public ownership, money can be directed away from the pockets of shareholders and towards investment in crumbling infrastructure, and lowering bills. Households, environmental groups and workers will be able to make decisions about how the utility is run, as part of the Board.