Responding to the publication of OFWAT’s a draft verdict on water companies’ five-year spending plans and bill increases to 2030, Green Party MP, Sian Berry said:  

“We’re today calling on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to put all water companies into public hands.   

“The provision of such a basic human right should not be based on profit.   

“The idea that water companies will hike bills while so many people are struggling to get to the end of the month is horrific. Meanwhile, some companies, like Thames Water, are still paying shareholder dividends, which is deplorable.   

“Public ownership is a matter of both social and environmental principle. But, as today’s verdict from OFWAT shows, it is also a pragmatic necessity.   

“Why not take decisive action and show real leadership by saying that all water companies should be in public hands?  

“Once this is done, government can invest affordably in the creaking infrastructure without all the harm falling onto our bills, and into our rivers and oceans that are currently being treated as open sewers.”