Thames Water customers oppose creditors' deal

New polling results show that over half of Thames Water customers believe water-regulator, Ofwat, should reject the proposals put forward by the failing company’s creditors.

Survation conducted the polling on behalf of nationalisation campaign group We Own It. Over 1000 customers took part in the survey, which campaigners described as “the first of its kind”.

Overwhelming opposition to creditors’ deal

Thames Water currently teeters on the brink of collapse, under nearly £20bn of debt. The negotiations between Ofwat and creditors, which should have concluded before 2025, are ongoing.

The results showed a whopping 54% of Thames Water customers oppose the creditors’ deal. Instead, they support placing the company into special administration. For contrast, just 19% of respondents believe the company should remain in private hands.

As part of the creditor’s offer, they’ve requested permission to continue polluting at levels above the safe legal limit for an environmentally-ruinous 15 years. As such, they wouldn’t plan to return to regulatory compliance until between 2035 and 2040.

Some 52% of participants deemed this demand for regulatory leniency unacceptable, compared to 25% who thought it fair.

Following on from this, 66% of customers supported the idea of including environmental groups on Thames Water’s board of directors. Likewise, 64% also thought that the board should include Thames Water employees, and 77% believed that households themselves should have a seat at the table.

Affordability an issue

The polling also demonstrated that — following yet another massive hike in prices — affordability was a key concern for customers:

79% of respondents said that Thames Water’s recent 35% bill increase is unreasonable.
Over one third (34%) expect to be unable to afford this bill increase
Over half (53%) have said that it would be reasonable for Thames Water customers to stop paying their bills.

Of the respondents, more than two thirds (68%) stated their support for the nationalisation of Thames Water, placing it in the hands of the public sector.

Beyond this, the survey also asked for opinions on how much shareholders should be compensated if the entire water sector was re-nationalised. 36% of participants stated that the private owners should receive ‘no compensation’ — which also happened to be the most popular answer.

As We Own It explained:

This government has repeatedly said that public ownership of water is not possible because it would cost £100 billion, but refusing shareholders compensation would put the cost of public ownership of water well below this. This polling result also demonstrates just how angry Thames Water customers are about the company’s ongoing crisis.

Nationalise the water sector

We Own It stated that the results provide a clear case for re-nationalisation:

These results provide irrefutable proof that customers want Thames Water in public hands

People are absolutely sick of paying more and more for a broken water system, all while watching as shareholders continue to extract eyewatering profits

If this government is serious about tackling the cost of living crisis, they must cut water bills. Public ownership would stop huge sums of money from leaking out of our water system in the form of shareholder payouts, meaning reduce costs for billpayers

DEFRA [Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs] Secretary Emma Reynolds needs to bring Thames Water into special administration now, followed by permanent public ownership. In doing so, this government could slash Thames Water’s debts by at least 40%

As an added incentive, 52% of respondents emphasised the importance of the government meeting its target to halve sewage pollution by 2030. A third of the Thames Water customers even stated that the fate of their water supplier would affect their vote in the next general election.

The polling results — and the accompanying cry for nationalisation — come after PM Keir Starmer promised to prioritise cutting the cost of living in 2026.

So, as a start, how’s about we end the failed experiment selling our most basic human needs to profit-driven private companies?

Featured image via the Canary