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The writing has been on the wall for more than a year and now, finally, the government is preparing to take control of Thames Water — the UK’s largest and most dysfunctional water company — after its £23bn debt mountain and chronic mismanagement scared even private equity out of the room.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed has told Parliament that the government had “stepped up” preparations for placing Thames Water into special administration — the technical term for a de facto re-nationalisation, albeit one that keeps the failed privatised model alive behind the scenes.
“We stand ready for all eventualities,”
Reed said.
“If that were to become necessary.”
If?
Let’s be clear: it already is.
Six books are gone – 44 to go!
Just click on the image, make your donation
and provide your details!
A black hole of debt and sewage
Thames Water serves around a quarter of the UK population — and is nearly £23 billion in debt.
In just a few months, earlier this year, its liabilities ballooned by as much as £1.5bn per month.
Meanwhile, its infrastructure is leaking, rivers are drowning in sewage, all while billions have been handed out to shareholders.
And while it pleads for leniency from regulator Ofwat and throws jargon-soaked press statements at journalists (“holistic and fundamental recapitalisation”… really?), the company remains on life support — kept alive only by the hope that someone else will pick up the tab.
Earlier this month, private equity giant KKR pulled out of a planned £4bn rescue deal — reportedly spooked by regulatory and political risk.
Translation: even sharks don’t want to swim in this water anymore.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
Enter the government… eventually
Now, after months of dithering, the government is “stepping up” preparations to put Thames Water into special administration.
That means temporary public control — but without accountability, reform, or lasting ownership. In other words: the public takes the risk, the markets get another chance.
Seem familiar?
It should.
This is exactly what happened with the failed energy supplier Bulb: a botched privatisation followed by a rushed, taxpayer-funded rescue, followed by a quiet return to private profiteers.
Get my free guide: “10 Political Lies You Were Sold This Decade” — just subscribe to our email list here:
👉 https://voxpoliticalonline.com
“Business as usual” – or a system beyond repair?
A company spokesperson insists it’s “business as usual” at Thames Water.
That might be the most damning aspect of all, because for years, “business as usual” has meant:
-
£7bn+ siphoned off to shareholders
-
Chronic underinvestment in infrastructure
-
Sewage spills across England’s rivers and coastlines, and
-
Soaring customer bills to subsidise executive bonuses
Despite all this, not one major political party leader will say the word “renationalisation” out loud.
Certainly Labour appears too afraid to challenge the status quo, despite having an overwhelming majority in Parliament.
Reed spoke of “consequences” for Thames Water — but carefully avoided any suggestion of permanent public ownership, despite overwhelming public support for it.
A cycle that won’t break itself
Right now, creditors (yes, creditors) are pitching a new £17 billion recapitalisation plan to Ofwat.
It would require “broad regulatory support” — code for government concessions and bill hikes — to protect their investment and re-float this corporate carcass.
So once again, the public is told to believe that a new board, new debt, and new PR will magically fix decades of rot. But nothing fundamental will change — because the system hasn’t.
It’s time to call time on the privatisation scam
This is no longer just a corporate failure — it’s a political one.
For more than 30 years, successive governments have let water firms loot essential infrastructure, poison the environment, and fob off responsibility to regulators who are permanently asleep at the wheel.
If we don’t make permanent changes now — public control, public accountability, and public benefit — we’ll be back here again. And again. And again.
Six books are gone – 44 to go!
Just click on the image, make your donation
and provide your details!
What you can do
1️⃣ Sign the Petitions:
2️⃣ Write to Your MP:
Visit TheyWorkForYou.com and send a message demanding permanent public ownership — not a temporary fix for a broken system.
3️⃣ Share This Article:
Tag your friends. Tag your MP. Push this message where the BBC won’t.
Let’s be clear:
What’s proposed isn’t rescue.
It is surrender to a failed system.
And it is time we said: no more.
Re-nationalise it — permanently.
Share this post:
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If you want to support this site
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And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
Government prepares “temporary” re-nationalisation of Thames Water – so what?
Share this post:
The writing has been on the wall for more than a year and now, finally, the government is preparing to take control of Thames Water — the UK’s largest and most dysfunctional water company — after its £23bn debt mountain and chronic mismanagement scared even private equity out of the room.
Environment Secretary Steve Reed has told Parliament that the government had “stepped up” preparations for placing Thames Water into special administration — the technical term for a de facto re-nationalisation, albeit one that keeps the failed privatised model alive behind the scenes.
Reed said.
If?
Let’s be clear: it already is.
Six books are gone – 44 to go!
Just click on the image, make your donation
and provide your details!
A black hole of debt and sewage
Thames Water serves around a quarter of the UK population — and is nearly £23 billion in debt.
In just a few months, earlier this year, its liabilities ballooned by as much as £1.5bn per month.
Meanwhile, its infrastructure is leaking, rivers are drowning in sewage, all while billions have been handed out to shareholders.
And while it pleads for leniency from regulator Ofwat and throws jargon-soaked press statements at journalists (“holistic and fundamental recapitalisation”… really?), the company remains on life support — kept alive only by the hope that someone else will pick up the tab.
Earlier this month, private equity giant KKR pulled out of a planned £4bn rescue deal — reportedly spooked by regulatory and political risk.
Translation: even sharks don’t want to swim in this water anymore.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
Enter the government… eventually
Now, after months of dithering, the government is “stepping up” preparations to put Thames Water into special administration.
That means temporary public control — but without accountability, reform, or lasting ownership. In other words: the public takes the risk, the markets get another chance.
Seem familiar?
It should.
This is exactly what happened with the failed energy supplier Bulb: a botched privatisation followed by a rushed, taxpayer-funded rescue, followed by a quiet return to private profiteers.
Get my free guide: “10 Political Lies You Were Sold This Decade” — just subscribe to our email list here:
👉 https://voxpoliticalonline.com
“Business as usual” – or a system beyond repair?
A company spokesperson insists it’s “business as usual” at Thames Water.
That might be the most damning aspect of all, because for years, “business as usual” has meant:
£7bn+ siphoned off to shareholders
Chronic underinvestment in infrastructure
Sewage spills across England’s rivers and coastlines, and
Soaring customer bills to subsidise executive bonuses
Despite all this, not one major political party leader will say the word “renationalisation” out loud.
Certainly Labour appears too afraid to challenge the status quo, despite having an overwhelming majority in Parliament.
Reed spoke of “consequences” for Thames Water — but carefully avoided any suggestion of permanent public ownership, despite overwhelming public support for it.
A cycle that won’t break itself
Right now, creditors (yes, creditors) are pitching a new £17 billion recapitalisation plan to Ofwat.
It would require “broad regulatory support” — code for government concessions and bill hikes — to protect their investment and re-float this corporate carcass.
So once again, the public is told to believe that a new board, new debt, and new PR will magically fix decades of rot. But nothing fundamental will change — because the system hasn’t.
It’s time to call time on the privatisation scam
This is no longer just a corporate failure — it’s a political one.
For more than 30 years, successive governments have let water firms loot essential infrastructure, poison the environment, and fob off responsibility to regulators who are permanently asleep at the wheel.
If we don’t make permanent changes now — public control, public accountability, and public benefit — we’ll be back here again. And again. And again.
Six books are gone – 44 to go!
Just click on the image, make your donation
and provide your details!
What you can do
1️⃣ Sign the Petitions:
We Own It – Bring Thames Water Into Public Ownership
Change.org – Return the Water Industry to Public Ownership
2️⃣ Write to Your MP:
Visit TheyWorkForYou.com and send a message demanding permanent public ownership — not a temporary fix for a broken system.
3️⃣ Share This Article:
Tag your friends. Tag your MP. Push this message where the BBC won’t.
Let’s be clear:
What’s proposed isn’t rescue.
It is surrender to a failed system.
And it is time we said: no more.
Re-nationalise it — permanently.
Share this post:
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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