Petition calls for public ownership of England’s water supply

A petition calling for a binding national referendum on whether England’s water industry should be returned to public ownership has passed 120,000 signatures in a matter of weeks, triggering consideration for a parliamentary debate.

Launched by Ashley Smith and Professor Peter Hammond of Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP) – the real-life campaigners portrayed by David Thewlis and Jason Watkins in Channel 4’s acclaimed series Dirty Business – the petition argues that more than £85 billion in customer bill payments has been paid out to shareholders since privatisation, money that under public ownership could have funded infrastructure investment.

WASP is not calling for outright renationalisation but for the public to have a democratic say in who owns and controls England’s water supply.

The Government responded on 23 April, arguing that nationalisation would take years, involve complex legal processes and distract from the urgent work of tackling sewage pollution. It pointed to the Water White Paper – a package of proposed regulatory reforms – as well as record Environment Agency enforcement budgets and executive bonus bans as evidence of action already under way.

Mr Smith and Mr Hammond rejected the response as misleading and wrote to environment secretary Emma Reynolds demanding what they described as honesty and integrity from her department.

Campaigner and musician Feargal Sharkey, speaking at a protest in Whitstable, urged supporters to “make the whole country smart and clever” by signing and sharing the petition. Television presenter Jeremy Wade, best known for River Monsters, is also among those publicly backing the campaign.

The petition, which runs until 1 October 2026, can be signed at petition.parliament.uk/petitions/762640.

Photo credit: Ian West / PA Wire