5 Jun 2025
The Thames Water crisis is not going away. We've written an open letter to Steve Reed urging him to bring the failing water company into public ownership to protect customers and the environment.
The Right Honourable Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Dear Secretary of State,
Thames Water is back in crisis. KKR, the US private equity firm lined up to buy a stake in the failing water company, has just pulled out of the deal. It was reported that the investment firm feared further political interference and therefore deemed it too risky.
There is a catch-22 for privatised water. If the offer is attractive for private shareholders, it will be at the expense of customers and the environment. If the regulatory environment demands that companies clean up sewage and invest without ripping off households, this is no longer an attractive offer for shareholders.
Yesterday the interim findings of Sir Jon Cunliffe's Independent Water Commission were released, finding that "the current regulatory system for the water industry in England and Wales has largely lost public trust". Political risk in the water industry is not going away. This will make it ongoingly difficult to find a new private owner for Thames Water, but also means the government now has an important opportunity to stand up for 16 million Thames Water "customers" (who have no choice) and the country.
There has never been a cheaper time to take Thames Water into public ownership as its debt would be cut by around half (the Treasury estimates a 40% haircut for creditors, while JP Morgan estimates 55%).
82% of voters across all parties want water in public ownership. This is the normal way to manage water in 9 out of 10 countries across the world. Public ownership of Thames Water can build on best practice elsewhere and its governance structure should include a role for households, workers and anti sewage groups, alongside local councillors.
We urge you to step in using your existing legal powers of Special Administration and take Thames Water into permanent public ownership.
Yours sincerely,
We Own It
Compass
Windrush Against Sewage Pollution
Henley Mermaids
Help us put pressure on Steve Reed by getting your MP take action
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Comments
Samira 3 weeks ago
Thank you
Reply
Tom Killick 6 days ago
Dear Steve Reed MP,
I am a constituent and therefore unavoidably a Thames Water customer. I have followed with mounting anger the company's difficulties and your apparent reluctance to deal with them. Most recently:
When appointing the so-called Independent Water Commission you directed them not to consider public ownership as an option. As a retired civil servant I am familiar with the lengths Governments will go in stretching the meaning of the English language, but to call such a commission "independent" is misleading to say the least.
The EFRA Select Committee's report published on 16 June urged the Water Commission to consider a variety of models of corporate ownership, which they say “could offer a better culture of responsible leadership.” Yet you continue to prevent the Commission from looking at public ownership. https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8765/reforming-the-water-sector/news/207615/failing-water-sector-needs-root-and-branch-reform-to-address-culture-that-is-deaf-to-crisis/
You continue to quote a cost of £100bn for renationalising the water industry. Your officials will have made clear to you since your appointment that the true cost is no such thing, yet you continue to cite this spurious sum, seemingly as an excuse for your inaction. I refer you to the recent study by Professor Ewan McGaughey, published by Common Wealth, that demonstrates the true cost to be negligible. https://www.common-wealth.org/perspectives/how-to-clean-up-our-water
You said when answering questions in the House of Commons on 19 June that Thames Water "remains financially stable, but we have stepped up our preparations and stand ready for all eventualities, as I have said before, including a special administration regime, if that were to become necessary." Leaving aside your broad definition of what constitutes financial stability, you continue to react to events rather than taking control of them, as a Secretary of State should do.
I ask you to do the right thing and take Thames Water back into public ownership where it belongs. It is disappointing, to say the least, that the Labour Government of 1997-2010 took no action on this. You now have a chance to fix it - please do not let us down again.
Yours sincerely
Tom Killick
82 Gracefield Gardens
SW16
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