Lewisham council urges government to consider nationalisation of failing Thames Water

Councillor Liam Shrivastava, leader of Lewisham's Green opposition, put forward the motion calling for Thames Water to be brought back into permanent public ownership, at the full council meeting on 24 September.

Labour councillors passed an amended motion, calling for the government to use "any and all measures including special administration and nationalisation to hold [Thames Water] to account".

Thames Water's performance has been disastrous across London, and it has the worst record of all English water companies for pollution incidents.

Lewisham households have experienced repeated water outages, most recently in February 2025, and frequent incidents of blocked drains, leaking pipes and sewage discharge.

Water is publicly owned across 90% of the world, and no other countries in Europe have privatised water as England and Wales have done.

Margaret Thatcher pushed through the privatisation in 1989, despite widespread public opposition.

Since then, bills have soared, investment in infrastructure has flatlined, pollution of rivers and the sea has increased and private equity giants around the world have extracted billions in dividends.

82% of the public want water companies to be brought back into public ownership.

Concerns that "corporate lobbyists" influencing debate

Thames Water is currently being managed by a holding company, London & Valley Water, while talks over restructuring continue with regulator Ofwat.

The debt-ridden firm is on the brink of collapse and at risk of going into a special administrati0n regime (SAR) - a short term nationalisation measure.

Thames Water's creditors are trying to avoid it being put into special administration, which would raise the possibility of long term nationalisation.

The Labour government is also trying to avoid the SAR and the increasing calls for nationalisation from MPs and the public.

Although a report funded by water companies has said that the costs of nationalisation would be £99 billion, economists Common Wealth have contested its valuation methods and pointed out that the report was written by "corporate lobbyists".

They argue that nationalisation could be achieved at costs close to zero.

Concerns were raised that chancellor Rachel Reeves received a £27,000 donation from a lobbying firm owned by private equity firm KKR, which bid for Thames Water earlier this year. (It later withdrew the offer.)

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Decisions being made "behind closed doors"

Shrivastava pointed out that decisions about the future of Thames Water are "being made behind closed doors", with no representation of consumers, workers or the environment.

The Lewisham Greens motion called for Thames Water to be brought into temporary administration immediately, followed by a move to permanent public ownership to "provide billpayers with a water service that prioritises people and the environment."

It added that ongoing decisions should be made with full public scrutiny and democratic involvement.

The new, publicly owned water company should have a changed governance model that includes representatives from councils, workers and households on the board.

Common Wealth points out that the UK lags behind other countries in democratic representation on company boards, and ignores the value of involving workers, consumers and other stakeholders.

Lewisham Labour's amendment to the motion was introduced by councillor Mark Jackson.

The statement highlights the government's Water (Special Measures) Act 2025 which places new regulation on private water companies, including banning bonuses for executives after some pollution incidents and increasing fines on firms.

Councillors called on Thames Water to publish annual performance data and to invest more in Lewisham.

They resolved to write to environment minister Emma Reynolds, stating that "Lewisham council supports robust oversight of Thames Water and the government should use any and all measures including special administration and nationalisation to hold them to account".

Shrivastava said: “Lewisham Greens were proud to bring a motion that sets out a clear plan for our most precious resource and ends the failed experiment of water privatisation.”

“Labour voting against bringing water back into public ownership makes its promise of ‘national renewal’ utterly hollow. They would rather side with polluting profiteers than deliver clean and affordable water for residents”

“The Green party is clear: no more bailouts and rescue plans - it’s time to take back our water.”

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