We make no apology for aggressively seeking the demise of Thames Water. It has operated effectively as a scam on the British public since its inception in 1989. Some would say it is a moral duty to do all we can to take it down.
The myth of privatisation
Privatisation was hyped by its champion, PM Thatcher, as essential to secure capital to upgrade the industry’s crumbling infrastructure.
On this measure alone the crazy experiment of handing this essential resource to a private monopoly bent on greed and profit has failed miserably.
For over 35 years there has been gross underinvestment in fixing leaky pipes, building any new reservoirs, or of course sorting out the sewage discharge scandal.
Catalogue of shame
Below are just some examples of Thames Water’s flagrant abuse of their monopoly, of their shameless, immoral behaviour, of how they have fleeced us, and how they have trashed our environment.
- Prior to privatisation Thatcher wrote off £7 billion of debt to ensure that stewardship of each water area was handed to its new private owner debt free. Since taking control, Thames Water has accumulated over £15 billion of debt. Their financial recklessness led to their shares being downgraded in Summer 2024 by two leading credit agencies to junk status.
- Much of the indebtedness incurred by Thames is down to loans which were taken out to pay their own shareholders, not to invest in infrastructure.
- A substantial part of each customer’s bill goes towards paying the interest on Thames Water’s borrowings.
- Shareholders’ greed knows no bounds. Despite the stupendous level of debt they squeezed out a £35 million dividend in October 2023, and two dividends totalling £158.3 million in March 2024. The regulators wring their hands, but take no action. Once again Thames scandalously takes advantage of weak regulation at customers’ expense.
- In October 2024, after handsomely rewarding their shareholders, Thames Water demanded price hikes for customers massively above the rate of inflation
- Warped values are engrained in Thames Water’s culture. In March 2024 a bonus of £195,000 was awarded to new Chief Executive Chris Weston, who was only appointed in January. This took his pay for his first three months to £437,000. This is despite the company’s dire financial performance and catastrophic failure on sewage discharges. It sticks two fingers up to the one in five customers reportedly struggling with their water bills in the middle of a cost of living crisis.
- For good measure, Alastair Cochran, Thames Water’s chief financial officer, was given a £446,000 bonus in July 2024
- Thames Water’s record for environmental crimes is well-known and has provoked justified anger. Just one reminder of the scale is the Freedom of Information Act disclosure that at least 72 billion litres of sewage were discharged into the River Thames alone between 2020 and 2023.
- There is nothing new about illegal discharge of sewage by Thames Water. It is on an industrial scale, it is systematic, and it has been built into Thames Water’s business model for 35 years.
To be continued…
