22 Apr 2026
Windrush WASP’s Ash Smith and Peter Hammond - the stars of channel 4’s recent docudrama ‘Dirty Business’ - have launched a petition calling for a referendum on public ownership of water.
Once the petition reaches 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for a debate in parliament.
Haven’t signed yet?
Click here to sign the petition
Why a petition for a referendum? We’ve set out some reasons why a referendum is a powerful and strategic demand in the fight for public ownership of water.
Referendums on water have worked previously
In 1994, Strathclyde Regional Council - covering nearly half the population of Scotland - carried out a postal referendum on water ownership. 97% of respondents rejected water privatisation in Scotland. Scottish water stayed publicly owned.
More recently, in 2014, activists in Thessaloniki organised a citizens’ referendum on water. 218,000 people took part, and 98% of them voted against the privatisation of their regional water utility, EYATH. Even though the result was not legally binding, the referendum made it clear that privatisation would be too much of a political risk for the Greek government. Thessaloniki’s water stayed publicly owned.
Public ownership of water is extremely popular
Time and again, polling results have revealed that the public wants water back in public hands.
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You Gov polling from 2024 reveals that 82% of us want water in public ownership
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Survation polling from 2026 reveals that 68% of Thames Water customers want the utility to be taken into public ownership
We can be confident that if a referendum takes place, the public will vote to end the privatisation scam.
Government decision-making on water has been blatantly undemocratic - it’s time for the public to have their say
The voices of private profiteers have been shaping government policy on water:
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Last year, Chancellor Rachel Reeves received £27,000 from a lobbying firm owned by KKR, who were trying to buy Thames Water.
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Peter Mandelson held huge (and entirely undemocratic) influence in this government. His lobbying company - Global Counsel - worked on behalf of water lobbyists Water UK. At the same time, the Cunliffe Review ruled out even considering public ownership of water as an option, despite its huge popularity among members of the public.
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FOIs (Freedom of Information requests) released at the beginning of this year revealed that Emma Reynolds held meetings with Water UK when she first came into post as Environment Secretary in September 2025. A briefing from one of these meetings reveals that one of the key points expressed was that, ‘the government is keen to work with Water UK on sector reset and to consider how to incorporate Water UK priorities into decision making effectively’. In other words, our Secretary of State asked the water lobbyists to shape new legislation about water.
We pay for - and depend upon - our water system. Now, it’s time for us to have a say.
Referendums anticipate the democratic water system we want to build
Referendums enable the public to have a direct say in the future of this vital resource.
One of the key benefits of public ownership of water is that it will enable the public to have a meaningful role in shaping how our water system is run. Household representatives, environmental groups and workers could all sit on the Boards of water companies, and make decisions in our shared interest.
By using a referendum, we’re already progressing towards that democratic, publicly-owned horizon.
Referendums draw attention to an issue
Referendums can be extremely hot topics. The opportunity to directly influence the course of a nationally significant policy inevitably draws plenty of attention, and encourages people to learn about the issue they’re voting on.
We can use all of the momentum around a referendum to win people over to public ownership, and highlight all the benefits it holds for people and planet. There’s plenty of momentum already around public ownership of water - with a referendum, we can build more.
Referendums offer a clear, indisputable outcome
For too long, this government has tried to pull the wool over our eyes, by claiming that regulation will solve the water crisis.
But the reality is that regulation of privatised water has simply been one failure after the next: water bosses have easily swerved bonus bans, and water companies simply factor pollution fines into their business costs. The government’s new white paper on water reform promises a ‘tailored approach’, which will afford water companies ample opportunity to manipulate the regulatory system for their own benefit.
Through a referendum, they will have to confront the question of ownership head-on: no more staving off public anger with half-hearted restrictions.
