Lib Dems demand Burnham overhauls water industry in first weeks as PM

17 Jul 2026

EMBARGO: 0001 Friday 17th July

As Thames Water reports it is back in profit, the Liberal Democrats are renewing their calls for immediate special administration status for Thames Water and a pathway to mutual ownership by the people, not the state. This is part of a series of measures the Liberal Democrats are demanding Andy Burnham make one of his first acts as Prime Minister, to radically overhaul the broken water industry.

Following years of environmental vandalism and financial mismanagement by privatised water firms, the Liberal Democrats are calling on Burnham’s new administration to abandon the failed privatisation model and hand water infrastructure back to the public, via a mutual model.

Liberal Democrats are calling on Andy Burnham to:

Immediately place Thames Water into a special administration regime, and permanently restructure the company as a mutual for the benefit of its customers.
Ensure accountability by recusing his advisor James Purnell from any involvement in decisions regarding Thames Water, as he has previously worked for a firm advising private utilities and major investors.
Instruct his Secretary of State to urgently develop plans to transition all existing water companies into public-benefit mutuals, owned by the people rather than the state, ensuring they are run for public health and the environment instead of private profit.
Immediately abolish the toothless regulator Ofwat and replace it with a powerful new Clean Water Authority with statutory powers to enforce strict environmental standards and crack down on repeat offenders.
End the Great Sewage Cover Up by forcing water companies to report volume, not just duration of sewage spills.
Implement an immediate, legally binding ban on all water company executive bonuses, free from loopholes.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said:

“For years, millions of us have watched in anger as our rivers, lakes, and seas have been pumped full of filthy sewage while foreign asset managers and corporate executives pocket billions.

“Andy Burnham has a clear choice in his first weeks in No 10: stand up for local communities and our environment, or let the same broken, polluting system continue.

“We need a clean break from the failed privatisation experiment. That means putting Thames Water into special administration today, wiping the slate clean of vulture capital debt, and handing our water infrastructure back to the people who actually use and rely on it.”

Liberal Democrat Environment Spokesperson Tim Farron MP said:

“The British public is utterly sick of paying through the nose for a basic utility that routinely trashes our natural environment. The new Government cannot simply tinker around the edges while our waterways and public health suffer.

“By transitioning water companies into customer-owned mutuals, we can take profit out of the equation without saddling the taxpayer with massive corporate debts. It is time to sack the toothless regulator, ban the bonuses, and end the sewage scandal once and for all.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors: