Tensions are rising against the water giants. With 25,000 homes in southern England still without drinking water this week, Green Party leader Zack Polanski has officially appealed to 10 Downing Street. His message is unequivocal: the private model has failed, and South East Water (SEW) must be nationalized without delay.
A “Bankrupt” Public Service
The Green Party leader’s assessment is alarming. Despite bills expected to jump by 24% by 2030, service to users is at an all-time low. Zack Polanski points out that SEW’s failures are not isolated incidents: after the crises of Christmas 2022 and June 2023, the December 2025 episode left two hospitals and dozens of schools and daycare centers without water.
“Water didn’t flow from the taps of 25,000 homes this week. Even the extremely high threshold set by Minister Emma Hardy for state intervention was reached,” Polanski insists in his letter, referring to the “minimum service” criteria defined by the government in September 2025.
Dividends versus infrastructure
At the heart of the Greens’ anger: the company’s financial management. Between 2020 and 2022, SEW paid out £156 million in dividends to its shareholders and £72.8 million in interest to its creditors. Meanwhile, investments in repairs capped at £179.8 million. As a result, by 2024/25, the company had squandered nearly 20% of its reserves on leaks, the equivalent of 15,300 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
For Polanski, the water sector has become a cash cow at the expense of the public interest. He points out that a third of the average Briton’s water bill now goes solely to paying shareholders or wiping out a colossal sector debt of £72 billion.
The Green Party’s “solution” of a special administration
The Green Party proposes a way out of the crisis through a “special administration.” This mechanism would allow the government to regain control of the company without paying compensation to shareholders. Even more radically, Polanski suggests that the state refuse to repay creditors, arguing that the costs of repairing failing infrastructure exceed the value of the debt.
Faced with this political pressure and the growing exasperation of residents in Kent and Sussex, the Starmer government is now backed into a corner: protect the privatization model or guarantee access to water as a fundamental, non-negotiable right.
Key figures of the crisis (Source: Letter from Z. Polanski):
25,000: Households without water this week in southern England.
24%: Projected increase in bills by 2030.
19.3%: Water loss rate due to leaks at South East Water in 2024/25.
£85.2 billion: Total dividends paid by the water sector since privatization in 1989.
