Independent Water Commission

John Slinger Excerpts

Monday 21st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Steve Reed]

I am afraid that the Green party’s proposals would mean paying £100 billion of taxpayers’ money to the owners of the water companies. That money would have to be taken away from the national health service. It would take years to unpick the current ownership models, during which time pollution in our rivers would get much worse, not better. We know it does not work, and we have only to look north of the border to see it; under the nationalised model in Scotland, pollution is worse, not better. The hon. Member is talking about cutting the national health service, giving £100 billion to the owners of the current water companies and making pollution far worse. That does not sound very green to me.

[John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)]

Action to tackle the water companies’ failure on long-standing systemic problems is much needed in my constituency, where I have been working with residents in Brownsover who have faced repeated burst pipes, with some families forced to move out multiple times and not receiving the proper value of damaged property. Severn Trent has now given a timetable for action on the infrastructure. I welcome the introduction of a new statutory water ombudsman to put the public, as the Secretary of State said, at the heart of water regulation. Does he agree that where the Conservatives failed the British consumer, this Labour Government will protect them and put people before profit?

[Steve Reed]

My hon. Friend is a vocal champion for his constituents. He is quite right to demand more compensation when outages happen, and an ombudsman. That is what the Government will provide, so that we can give better support to customers who are let down by the water companies. We are on the side of bill payers and the environment; the previous Government were on the side of neither.