Caution to Steve Reed: Don’t betray the public with Thames Water

In response to recent developments, we have written to Environment Secretary Steve Reed to welcome recent steps to prepare for placing Thames Water into a Special Administration Regime. BUT we’ve warned that writing off Thames Water’s debts only to sell the company to another private foreign investor would be a profound betrayal of the public. 

It follows news reports that the Government is preparing to take control of Thames Water, wipe its debts, and sell it to a Chinese infrastructure company, CKI.

READ THE LETTER

In the letter, we urge the Government to use Thames Water’s Special Administration Regime not as a prelude to another overseas takeover, but as an opportunity to restructure the utility so it is run for public benefit, transparency, and long-term environmental protection.

River Action’s Head of Campaigns Amy Fairman said: 

“Writing off Thames Water’s debts only to sell it to another foreign investor would be a betrayal. 

“This crisis is a chance to rebuild it for public benefit, not private profit. Labour campaigned hard during last year’s election on promises to get a grip on the water crisis and act tough on failing water companies. This is a chance to chart a new course, not repeat the mistakes of the past by selling to overseas buyers eyeing a bargain.

This is a moment for leadership, not short-term expediency. Running Thames Water for public benefit rather than private profit is the surest route to cleaner rivers and satisfying public demands. The Thames and its tributaries are a lifeline for millions – and their health is inseparable from the wellbeing of our environment, economy, and public health,”

The letter outlines the decades of failure that have left Thames Water in crisis: spiraling debt, chronic underinvestment in infrastructure, worsening pollution of rivers, and repeated breaches of environmental law. 

Repeated changes of ownership – often to opaque overseas private investment groups – have consistently prioritised shareholder returns and high-cost debt over safe, clean water and the health of our waterways.

Our key demands to Government:

1. Rule out the sale of Thames Water to another foreign-owned private investor and ensure a public benefit ownership, investment and governance structure
2. Use the special administration process to fundamentally restructure Thames Water’s finances and operations to invest in infrastructure that will secure water and protect the environment
3. Ensure the public does not bail out private investors during the special administration regime and dispel the myth that Thames Water is worth tens of billions
4. Write-off the current high-interest debt and use Government-backed bonds to significantly lower the burden and attract low-risk, low return, long-term investors
5. Use the Special Administration Regime for Thames Water as an opportunity to design a permanent public benefit test model for water utilities

It’s clear that the public patience is exhausted and that repeating the same failed privatisation model would undermine trust further.