The GMB trade union are calling for the water companies to be taken back into public ownership and Ofwat to be scrapped, describing the current structure of the privatised companies and the regulator as "a costly failure."

The GMB, which has almost 631,000 members and represents employees through the water sector, water, was commenting on Ofwat’s Final Determinations for the water companies’ AMP6 Business Plans.

Eamonn O Hearne Large, GMB lead officer in Water, said:

 “This OFWAT regime entirely misses the central point about long term water supply in Britain. When the Tories privatised the industry they made a very big mistake to abandon the national dimension in water resource management since ours is a small heavily populated country with short lines of communication and with plentiful resources on the west side and growing demand on the east side.”

“Water supply is a natural monopoly so futile attempts to organize it as a free market with competition is not possible and is doomed to failure with untold consequences for our economy.”

“We should correct this mistake and listen to the experts who gave advice based on needs and not on the desire to make money. It is essential that the government comes forward with plans to get more water to the South East and Eastern England.”

“Rationing and raising prices is not acceptable as there is no shortage of water in Britain but there is a lack of capacity to get the water from where it is plentiful to areas where it can be scarce.  The lack of structures that can make decisions to get the water to where it is needed must be corrected.”

“The government has to act and act speedily. The current structure of the privatised companies and the regulator need to be scrapped.  It has been a costly failure.”

The GMB now want to see the water industry returned to public control  with the equity in the privatised water companies converted to long term debt with a fixed return, issued by the public sector.