Sarah Gibson MP demands bosses bonus ban on local water companies

Sarah Gibson, Liberal Democrat MP for Chippenham, has called for an immediate ban on executive bonuses at Thames Water and Wessex Water. This follows the announcement today (8th October) that Thames Water would have to pay back £56.8m due to poor performance, and Wessex Water would need to pay £5.3m.

Ofwat’s report comes as the new government’s Water Bill is set to be debated in Parliament. The Liberal Democrats have said the bill is only a “half-measure” and will table an amendment that would enforce an immediate ban on water company bosses’ bonuses.

The Liberal Democrats have previously revealed that there were 1484 sewage spills in Chippenham last year. This is the most recent data available however uses the old constituency boundaries.

Thames Water has come out on top as the water company due to pay the highest amount in fines. In July 2024, Chris Weston – the latest Thames Water boss -  took a £195k bonus for his first three months in office whilst customer bills were increased by 59%. In the same month, Thames Water left Wiltshire residents without access to running water for days.

Liberal Democrat MP for Chippenham, Sarah Gibson, said:

“In return for polluting the River Avon and failing to protect our local environment, water company bosses are being personally rewarded with money taken from increased utility bills paid for by my constituents.

“In addition to being allowed to pump filthy sewage into our waterways across the country while their bosses take home huge bonuses, Thames Water in particular have also proven themselves to be utterly useless in the case of emergencies. To give a recent example from this Summer: residents from Royal Wootton Basset, Lyneham, Thornhill and Bradenstoke were left without access to running water for days – Thames Water failed to ensure that everyone was supplied with bottled water. Having met with them after the incident, I remain unconvinced that they are doing their best to plan for emergencies. It is therefore mind-blowing to me that their boss gets a bonus whilst their customers get a higher water bill.

“The new government’s bill is only a half-measure and nowhere near tough enough on water companies. I hope they will support the Liberal Democrat amendment, which will ban water companies from being able to dish out bonuses until leaks are fixed and sewage spills end. Only then will we start to get a fair deal for people in the Chippenham constituency.”