Badenoch accused of rewriting water privatisation history

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 10 Oct, 06:19 · Archive

Oxfordshire Liberal Democrat MPs have accused Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch of rewriting history over her comments describing water privatisation as a success.

Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative Party leader, described the privatisation of water companies under Margaret Thatcher as a 'success' in a recent interview with ITV Meridian. Five Oxfordshire Liberal Democrat MPs—Layla Moran, Olly Glover, Freddie van Mierlo, Charlie Maynard and Calum Miller—issued a joint statement accusing her of trying to 'rewrite history'. They said: 'The privatisation of water was a huge and costly failure by the Thatcher Government that bill payers – and our environment – are still paying for today.'

Thames Water has leaked an average of 756 million litres per day since 1992, equivalent to 302 Olympic-sized swimming pools daily. The Liberal Democrat MPs said: 'The Conservatives broke our water industry, and the Labour Government hasn't made any serious moves to fix it.'

The Liberal Democrats called for Thames Water to be placed into special administration and for water companies to be converted into mutually owned public benefit corporations. They argued that mutual ownership—where companies are owned by customers rather than shareholders—would prioritise infrastructure reinvestment over dividends, ensuring water companies operated 'in the interests of their customers and our environment – no longer in the pursuit of private profit'.

How it is being reported

• Badenoch accused of trying to ‘re-write history’ over water privatisationOxfordshire Liberal Democrat MPs have accused Kemi Badenoch of trying to "re-write history" over her comments on water company privatisation.Oxfordshire Guardian · 10 Oct, 05:00
• Badenoch accused of trying to ‘re-write history’ over water privatisationOxfordshire Liberal Democrat MPs have accused Kemi Badenoch of trying to "re-write history" over her comments on water company privatisation.Oxford Mail · 10 Oct, 05:00

In this story: Kemi Badenoch · Layla Moran · Olly Glover · Freddie van Mierlo · Charlie Maynard · Calum Miller · Thames Water · Oxfordshire

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