UK River Report #24: Burnham Bounce? What is the PM Doing for our Water?

Welcome back dear reader to the twenty-fourth installment of the UK River Report, marking two years of writing this blog. In this month's post, I will be focusing on our new PM and what this might mean for our water industry going forwards. I shall consider the key views, both past and present, Andy Burnham has expressed regarding water companies and their regulation, and cover what he has said, compared with what he has done, since coming to power.

Prior to winning the Makerfield by-election, Andy Burnham was quoted supporting the public ownership of water companies, calling for 'greater public control' and stating with respect to Thames Water 'public ownership [...] is what should be done' [1]. Furthermore, after assuming the role of PM, Burnham reiterated his support for public control, warning against water companies treating consumers like a 'blank cheque' in light of recent bill increases, although it was the 'toothless' Ofwat which approved these spending proposals [2]. Similarly, at the time, Thames Water was allowed to award a £1 million signing fee to its finance chief, with Defra only reacting to describe the payout as 'unacceptable'. Instead, it has again been left to campaign groups such as River Action and We Own It to call on Burnham to toughen his stance on nationalising the company [3].

Interestingly, Burnham's hesitancy to commit to re-nationalising the water industry could be due to Treasury projections which suggest this could result in increased government debt [4].

However, this is untrue.

Previous government analysis estimated the cost of nationalising the water industry at approximately £100 billion, a figure similar to that published in a 2018 report funded by four water companies including South West Water and United Utilities [5, 6]. Multiple academics have discredited Defra's economic analysis, which has been described as 'misleading, simplistic and wrong', concluding that the true figure would be substantially lower [6].

One alternative to strict re-nationalisation, which has garnered some support from some Labour MPs and regional mayors and would dispel misguided debt risk concerns, is the transformation of water companies into not-for-profit cooperatives run locally [4]. This could be a strategy Burnham aims to explore further, having most recently announced plans for 'stronger public control' of water and energy to come 'later in the year', while also suggesting the creation of nine regional bodies to oversee water companies and hold them to account, the latter being a key recommendation of the Independent Water Commission published last year [7, 8].

Although promising, the government's interest in water industry reforms does not align well with its current housing agenda. Our outdated water infrastructure already struggles with current demand and given the present environmental pressures resulting from over-abstraction, particularly in the south and east of England, Labour's emphasis on its housebuilding targets seems misplaced and shortsighted [9, 10]. Furthermore, as the UK faces a water quality crisis, the government ought to shift away from its drive to triple the number of water-intensive datacentres in the UK by 2030 and focus on improving supply resilience in the face of increasingly frequent and severe drought [11, 12].

Thank you for taking the time to read this month's issue of the UK River Report. I hope you found it informative. If you would like to get involved and raise awareness of river pollution in your area, please head over to the UK River Report website and check under the 'Get Involved' page to complete our survey, or feel free to get in touch via the 'Contact' page, if you feel you have more to discuss than the survey can offer. 

With hope for the future,

Federico

References:

1. Crerar P, Horton H. Thames Water Should be Nationalised, Says Andy Burnham. The Guardian; 2026. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jun/05/thames-water-should-be-nationalised-andy-burnham

2. Ambrose J, Mason R. Water Customers are not a ‘blank cheque’, Burnham Tells Suppliers. The Guardian; 2026. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/aug/13/water-bills-suppliers-spending-england-wales-ofwat

3. Jolly J. Thames Water’s £1m Payout to Finance Chief is ‘unacceptable’, Says Government Department. The Guardian; 2026. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/aug/10/thames-water-fee-finance-chief-andy-burnham

4. Horton H. Turn Failing Water Firms Into Not-For-Profit Cooperatives, MPs and Mayors Tell PM. The Guardian; 2026. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/aug/01/turn-failing-water-firms-into-not-for-profit-cooperatives-mps-and-mayors-tell-pm

5. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Nationalising the Water Sector: How We Assessed the Cost. GOV.UK; 2025. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationalising-the-water-sector-how-we-assessed-the-cost/nationalising-the-water-sector-how-we-assessed-the-cost

6. Seddougui S. Myth Busting: Would it Really Cost £100 Billion to Bring Water Utilities Into Public Ownership? River Action; 2025. Available from: https://riveractionuk.com/news/myth-busting-would-it-really-cost-100-billion-to-bring-water-utilities-into-public-ownership/

7. Whannel K. Burnham Promises More Devolution and Public Control of Essential Services. BBC; 2026. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2z528rdp6o

8. Farley H, Keenan C. Mayors Could be Given Powers to Oversee Water Companies. BBC; 2026. Available from: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmgrvdxzzk8eo

9. Laville S. ‘We cannot magic up more water’: The Supply Problems Putting Housing Targets in England at Risk. The Guardian; 2026. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/02/we-cannot-magic-up-more-water-the-supply-problems-putting-housing-targets-in-england-at-risk

10. Shahid N, Gayle D. Hundreds in London Flats Left Without Regular Running Water Since Last Year. The Guardian; 2026. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/aug/11/london-flats-left-without-regular-running-water-tower-hamlets

11. Neill P. All Bodies of Water in England Polluted With Toxic Chemicals, Official Data Shows. The Guardian; 2026. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/aug/06/all-bodies-of-water-england-polluted-toxic-chemicals

12. Harris J. As AI Guzzles Water and Energy, we are Already Facing a Choice: Datacentres or Homes? The Guardian; 2026. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/09/slough-famous-the-office-datacentres-locals-hub-europe