UK government readies legal changes to overhaul Thames Water and broader water sector
Environment Secretary Angela Eagle says ministers are prepared to alter legislation to bring Thames Water under public control and reform the water industry.
In an interview, Environment Secretary Angela Eagle warned that Britain’s current insolvency framework is ill-suited to deal with the conduct of Thames Water’s hedge-fund owners, and that ministers are ready to amend the law to enable public ownership. Although Thames Water is not formally insolvent, Eagle said the Water Act was never designed for the kind of corporate strategies now being employed. She indicated that a new water bill will soon give the government the tools needed to act, aligning with the prime minister’s broader agenda to bring utilities into public hands.
Eagle also highlighted the company’s £20 billion debt, a record £122.7 million fine for sewage breaches, and ongoing negotiations by owners such as Elliott Management and Apollo Global Management to restructure debt. Options on the table include placing the firm into special administration, which could trigger a shift toward nationalisation. The discussion occurs as Eagle participates in the National Drought Group and pushes for new reservoir projects to improve water resilience.
Why it matters
The outcome will determine whether a vital public service is run by private investors or placed under state control.
How this story developed
- Sep 1 Prime Minister Andy Burnham to Address Commons on First Day Back
- Sep 1 Former prime minister Keir Starmer said he will leave the House of Commons, prompting a by-election in his Holborn and St Pancras seat.
- Sep 1 The £4 million gift from Ben Delo, a former BitMEX executive convicted of a U.S. banking-secrecy breach and later pardoned by Donald Trump, accounted for three-quarters of Reform UK’s donations in the last quarter. The party, led by Nigel Farage, raised a total of £5.3 million, less than the £9 million-plus it collected in each of the two prior quarters. No contributions were reported from its other major backer, Christopher Harborne, a British-born crypto entrepreneur now based in Thailand. The British government is set to tighten rules on overseas donors, limiting their gifts to £100,000. Parliamentary officials are probing whether a previously undisclosed £5 million from Harborne to Farage breached declaration rules.
- Sep 2 French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in London to meet new Prime Minister Andy Burnham and attend a private Bayeux Tapestry viewing with King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
- Sep 3 Starmer announced his resignation from Parliament, prompting the by‑election.
- Sep 3 Burnham announced a plan to extend devolution to all parts of England and to increase public control of utilities.
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- Sep 3 Labour moved to refer Reform UK to police over the alleged foreign‑donation breach.
- Sep 4 Zack Polanski announced his intention to contest the Holborn and St Pancras by‑election.
- Sep 4 Bond yields surged to their fastest rise since the 2022 mini‑budget, wiping out £12 billion of fiscal headroom.
- Sep 4 Metropolitan Police began assessing the allegations.
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