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The stupidity is comical.

The private equity firm that had been the frontrunner to lead a rescue of Thames Water, the UK’s largest water provider, has pulled out.

The firm – KKR – has left Thames Water floundering with £23 billion worth of debt, and desperately casting about for a lifebelt. And yes, there may be more bad-taste aquatic metaphors to come.

Apparently the firm’s bosses are still hoping to work out a new deal with someone – anyone? – by July.

There’s just one question:

Why is nobody talking about renationalising this national disgrace?

The company’s debt burden alone should be enough cause for the government to step in. It’s said to be £23 billion now but it was £17 billion in February (although some said £19 billion).

That means it has lost at least £1 billion per month since then – possibly £1.5 billion.

Remember when Rachel Reeves was accusing the Tories of leaving a £22 billion “black hole” in the public finances?

What the blazes do you think she should be calling this? Because I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but she is noticeably absent from any discussion at all!

In fact, the entire the political and regulatory establishment seems desperate to avoid the word “renationalisation”, even though Special Administration (SAR) would amount to de facto nationalisation, just without structural reform or long-term public ownership.

Let’s look at the core facts:

The debt Load is £23 billion and rising. Much of it is inflation-linked, worsening the burden.

Ofwat fined Thames Water £123m recently, but that’s a drop in the ocean (I told you more aquatic metaphors might be on their way).

Despite these debts, more than £7 billion has been paid out to shareholders since privatisation, while infrastructure crumbles and sewage spills rise.

KKR pulling out simply shows that even private equity, famed for risk appetite, sees this as too toxic.

So renationalisation should be on the table: the public is already paying through bills, fines (you knew the cost of those was going to be funnelled straight to the customer, right?) and now potentially taxpayer-funded administration.

No market fixes are working because investors don’t trust the model and customers don’t trust the service.

And SAR is nationalisation without accountability – it keeps the water in private hands while socialising risk — a lose-lose situation.

And what are the politicians saying? Nothing. It’s not just Reeves. Labour has backed away from renationalisation promises, despite rising public support. Ofwat (showing how useless the so-called regulators have proved to be) and the Treasury are focused on “market confidence” and “investor engagement” – because we all know that jargon will make the problem go away.

Oh no, wait… it won’t.

No wonder the public mood is increasingly furious — especially after years of sewage dumping, price hikes, and executive bonuses.

This is the privatisation experiment collapsing in real time — and establishment voices are bending over backwards to prop it up rather than call time on failure.

It should be no surprise that there are a couple of petitions related to this.

We Own It wants Thames Water taken back into public ownership: “No bailout at our expense – the government must use the law to protect billpayers and taxpayers, not the financial institutions that got us into this mess. New publicly owned Thames Water must give communities a role in governance and be accountable for a serious plan to tackle leaks and sewage and clean up our rivers. Make it permanent not temporary.”

change.org wants the renationalisation of the entire UK water industry, citing issues like sewage pollution, infrastructure neglect, and excessive executive bonuses. This one has more than 286,000 signatures already.

Both are well worth your signature.

Additionally – or alternatively – look up your MP on TheyWorkForYou.com, and write to them, detailing your concerns.

Finally:

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