Flooding in Kentish Town last autumn

ANTI-privatisation campaigners are urging the new secretary for the environment to not let Thames Water off the hook once again, writes Tom Foot.

The We Own It campaign group has warned that the stricken company’s creditors are putting forward “a last-ditch effort to protect their interests” and get out of paying fines for polluting the environment.

A group of US hedge funds are proposing an alternative to nationalisation where the government holds a “golden share” in the company – giving it powers to veto executive decisions – along with “increased supervision by local authorities”.

“Increased ‘supervision’ by local authorities and regional leaders is – at best – symbolic,” said WOI, which is calling for Thames Water to be placed in “special administration without delay”.

The utility company, which is in £20billion debt, has been criticised for a series of pollution incidents.

At the same time it has been hiking bills since last April due to the cost of essential investment in ageing water and wastewater infrastructure. For the typical Camden household the increases were around £200 a year.

Sophie Conquest – Lead Campaigner at We Own It – told the New Journal: “Andy Burnham began his premiership by criticising privatisation and promising us a new economic model. He has pledged ‘to fix the big things that politics has neglected’. Accepting the creditors’ deal – and continuing the privatisation of Thames Water – would break this promise before his premiership has barely even begun.

“Thames Water is a symbol of everything that is currently wrong with our economic model: during a cost of living crisis, households are paying eye-watering bills for flooding; outages; hose-pipe bans and sewage-choked rivers – all so that US hedge funds can extract as much money as possible. Thames Water presents a huge opportunity for Burnham to make good on his promise, and show us whose side he is really

“The creditors promise of greater public control is an illusion. The government’s ‘golden share’ in Royal Mail hasn’t prevented prices from increasing or services from being cut. United Utilities already has a ‘supervisory structure’, which has done nothing to prevent the utility from pushing up bills and polluting our rivers.

“It is imperative that Burnham rejects this last-ditch attempt from the creditors, and places Thames Water in special administration where it belongs.”

Andy Burnham enjoying a pint in a pub this week [Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street]

Thames Water says that since 2000 it has replaced around 245 kilometres of distribution water mains – small local water pipes – across Camden.

It said that there was still around 45 per cent of the network to replace but that the main source of flood risk in Camden was heavy rainfall overwhelming the drainage systems.

This risk is increasing due to a combination of climate change, driving more frequent and intense rainfall events; the loss of permeable surfaces, causing more rain to run off more quickly from impermeable surfaces; and more people living in areas at risk of flooding, especially the creation or conversion of basement properties into habitable spaces.

So far, 112 MPs have already signed an open letter urging the Government to take Thames Water into special administration immediately.

New prime minister Andy Burnham has said Thames Water should be nationalised before moving into Number 10.

“Public ownership is absolutely an option,” he said. “I would say for Thames Water, that is what should be done.”