Saving our Water: Clean Rivers and Fair Bills
Charlie believes that people shouldn’t have to pay soaring water bills while sewage is dumped in our waterways and communities face constant flood risks, all while bosses at Thames Water are filling their pockets. Charlie is taking action to protect our rivers, homes and countryside and stand up to water companies that are letting us down.
Hold on. There's sewage in our rivers?
💩 Sewage has been dumped illegally into our rivers for years - in 2024, Thames Water was responsible for 300,000 hours of raw sewage pouring into waterways.
🤝 Charlie is partnering with WASP (Windrush Against Sewage Pollution), who are working to understand the scale of the dumping and stop sewage spills in our rivers.
📢 Charlie frequently raises this issue in Parliament and with Government Ministers. He will not give up.
So where is the money from our bills going?
📉 Thames Water are in £19 billion of debt, and that number is only getting bigger. Currently, over 25% of your water bill goes to paying interest on Thames Water’s debts.
🤑 Shareholders and bosses continue to get huge payouts - in the 23/24 tax year, £195 million of dividend was paid out.
💷 Now Thames Water have asked for a £3 billion loan with 9.75% interest rate to be added to their debt. They claim this will “give it the space needed to complete a restructuring of its debts and attract a cash injection from prospective new investors”.
Am I understanding this right? Their solution to being in debt is to take on more debt?
🕳️ The proposed solution of an extra £3 billion of debt is as ludicrous as it sounds. As Charlie puts it: “when you're in a hole, stop digging!”. This “solution” is nothing more than an expensive, short-term bailout set to fail, with half of the money instantly going to interest payments and fees.
⚖️ Charlie has been fighting this extra debt in the High Court, arguing instead that the company should be taken into Special Administration. This would allow the Government to temporarily take over and sort out Thames Waters dire financial situation, while ensuring the provision of water continues. Once the finances have been sorted out there could also be a full review of the way Thames is owned and run.
🫥 Initially, customers were not represented in the High Court hearing. Charlie knew this was wrong, which is why he stepped in - to represent your rights.
What does this mean for our water bills?
📈 Thames Water have been allowed to raise bills by more than 35% over the next five years. Charlie has been vocally opposed to this.
‼️The company has claimed this increase is not enough, and has appealed to be allowed to raise bills by 59% over the next five years. This is at the same time as claiming that additional debt will not affect customers bills.
It sounds like they can just do what they want. Where are Ofwat?
🚫 Ofwat are supposed to ensure that water companies are correctly disposing of sewage, whilst also protecting customers. Frankly, their actions only work for the water companies.
🚰 Charlie fought for much tougher measures to hold failing water companies to account in the Water Bill. However, the Government are happy to just kick this issue into the long grass and have refused to take any real action to fix the issues in our water sector and stop pollution in our rivers.
📺 Watch Charlie's powerful speech fighting for 44 improvements that he proposed to strengthen the bill here: www.youtube.com/watch
What about the flooding across our constituency?
🌊 Charlie has seen first-hand the devastating consequences of flooding. He has continuously pressed the Government to take action to tackle this and protect our homes and landscapes
🚣♀️ Charlie is urging a review of the Environment Agency’s ‘main river designation’, which is worsening flooding in places like Northmoor and Bablock Hythe.
🏘️ Charlie will continue to advocate for long-term solutions to protect homes and communities for as long as it takes - he understands how important this is for residents now, and for the future of our community.
Who else is working with Charlie? Is there anything I can do?
👥 There are action groups like WASP (Windrush Against Sewage Pollution) who are working hard to investigate the extent of the failures by Thames Water, as well as other providers. They are open to new volunteers as well as donors. You can also learn a lot through attending their meetings, as they share all their knowledge freely.
🗳️ Our Oxfordshire County Council candidates are dedicated to holding Thames Water to account, just like Charlie. By voting for them on 1st May 2025, you can help to ensure that your next County Councillor works to hold Thames Water to account.
