Westminster Hall

14 September 2026

Contents updated on 14 Sept 2026

The Chair opens the Westminster Hall debate on the water ownership petition and MPs set out the historical context of the 1989 privatisation, then scrutinise the current regulatory regime, its handling of leakage, sewage and service failures, and the adequacy of oversight and ministerial powers in light of mounting evidence on pollution and Thames Water’s instability.

Chamber Mon, 14 Sept 2026 Actual start 16:15 House of Commons

15:20 - 15:25

Speaker 1

Order, order. Paul Davies to move the motion.

15:25 - 16:20

Speaker 2

Ms Barker, it's a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship. I beg to move that this House has considered e-petition 762640 relating to a referendum on the public ownership of the water sector. I would like to begin by thanking Ashley Paul Smith, who I know is sat there in the back, for pulling together this petition. It has now received 208,000 signatures and counting, and I'm sure that number is definitely out of date already. As the founder and chair of Windrush Against Sewage Pollution, Ash has been investigating the sewage scandal since 2016.

Members will likely be aware that his efforts were dramatised in Channel 4's Dirty Business earlier this year, which exposes the long-term impact of the private model on our water sector.

16:20 - 16:42

Speaker 3

Yep. I'm grateful. And that brilliant documentary that he referred to was based on an example relating to South West Water and Devon. Many people in my area would like to see South West Water become a company for the public benefit and mutualised. Does he agree that that would be a good model for South West Water?

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