Thames Water is one of the most scandal-struck companies in the UK. The good news is it’s so in debt that the UK could use special measures to take it into public hands without paying them out. Unfortunately, though, the government doesn’t seem to have much interest in doing so. This is why We Own It is encouraging voters to write to their MPs:

Regulation hasn’t stopped scandal after scandal at Thames Water. But their PR war to keep their hands on its assets continues.

Write to your MP: Angela Eagle must reject the creditors’ last-ditch attempt to keep Thames Water privatised. https://t.co/Az3fXFnZ8Z pic.twitter.com/WlSa09L0bC

— We Own It (@We_OwnIt) August 12, 2026

Scandalous

Our recent coverage of Thames Water includes the following scandalous stories:

• Thames Water profits rise to £400m as bills rise by a third.
• Shareholders desperate to keep hands on cash cow monopoly.
• Thames Water issues massive bonuses to bosses… despite the ban on water bosses’ bonuses.
• Failing Thames Water faces fresh fury over finance chief’s £1m signing bonus.

Thames Water has provided a terrible service – all while raking in massive profits. This is truly one of the worst companies to have ever existed, and it should never have been allowed to form in the first place.

We Own It are now advising the following:

After being rejected four times, the Thames Water creditors are now submitting a fifth proposal to keep the utility in private hands. This time, they’re promising to increase public control over the utility.

That promise is an illusion.

If this deal gets signed off, Thames Water will stay privatised and the scam will continue.

But if the deal gets rejected, it is highly likely that Thames Water will fall into special administration. From there, we can fight for permanent public ownership.

“Crossroads”

Using the We Own It link (see here), you can send the following message to your MP:

I am writing because the future of our water is at a crossroads.

Right now, Thames Water’s creditors – a group of US hedge funds – are negotiating to formally take over the utility.

Former Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds stood up for households like mine, and rejected their previous proposal on the grounds that it expected customers to “pick up the bill for the company’s failures”.

As a result, the creditors – who intend to list the business on the stock market as early as 2030 – are now submitting another proposal.

Will you urgently write to the new Environment Secretary Angela Eagle, asking her to reject the creditors’ latest offer, and place Thames Water into special administration without delay?

The creditors’ offer of a governmental ‘golden share’ and increased local supervision will provide nothing more than an illusion of increased control, and will not address the cost of living crisis:

• The Government negotiated a golden share in Royal Mail when it was sold to Daniel Křetínský last year. This did not stop stamp prices from increasing and services from being cut.
• Since 2021, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority has held a partnership with United Utilities as a form of ‘local supervision’. This has not stopped United Utilities from pushing up the average water bill to £660, or from filling waterways with sewage.

Over 11,000 members of the public like me have already signed a letter to Environment Secretary Angela Eagle, urging her to reject the creditors’ latest offer.

112 MPs have signed an open letter, calling on this government to urgently place Thames Water in special administration.

This deal affects every household in England, including mine. If signed off, it will signal to all privatised water companies that their failures have no consequences.

Special administration is the best deal for the public purse. Under special administration, we can write off a substantial portion of Thames Water’s debts.

Members of the public like me are acutely aware that continued privatisation of Thames Water will only cost us more. That’s why over 7000 of us complained to Ofcom and the BBC last week, when it was implied that a change in Thames Water’s ownership would take money away from other public services.

Andy Burnham stood up for the public in Greater Manchester, when he faced down the bus companies in the High Court to win public control.

I truly hope that this government takes this opportunity to stand up for ordinary people like me by rejecting [the] creditors.

No more from Thames Water

Privatised utilities have been an absolute nightmare for Britain. Right now is the perfect opportunity to turn the page on this dark chapter, and to return to a situation in which the money we spend on water is reinvested in the system.

If this record-breaking summer has taught us anything, it’s that our ability to access clean and plentiful water has never been more needed.

You can write to your MP using this link.

Featured image via Toby Shepheard / Stephen Shepherd

By Willem Moore

From Canary via This RSS Feed.