‘It is a gross insult that the English and Welsh are being forced to pay for eye-watering bill hikes while a water industry chief executive can rakes in over £3 million a year’
‘The Labour government has responsibilities for the water industry in England and Wales, and approved this inflation-busting rise during a cost-of-living crisis. Labour must reverse this outrageous decision.’
‘It beggars belief that the Labour governments in Westminster and Cardiff are letting water companies in England and Wales hike bills at a time when so many people are struggling to make ends meet’
‘‘If the Labour Party really wants to help people through this cost-of-living crisis, it needs to stop this painful bill hike going ahead and freeze water rates.’
By stewartb
There is news today (January 30) for households in England and Wales of increases in their water bills for 2025-26. The BBC News website has an article headlined ‘Water bills to rise by £10 a month in April’ which reports that ‘The rise will see the average annual bill hit £603, but there are significant variations between regions.’
We’re given more details for a sub-set of the regional water companies:
- Southern Water customers – a 47% increase to £703 a year
- Hafren Dyfrdwy (northeast and mid-Wales) and South West Water – a 32% increase
- Thames Water – a 31% increase
- Yorkshire Water – a 29% increase
- Bournemouth Water – a 32% increase.
Water Magazine (January 30) reports: ‘The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) has warned many of the most financially vulnerable households will not be able to cope with a £123 (+26%) increase to the average household water and sewerage bill in England and Wales from 1 April.’
Yes an average increase of 26% but: ’The CCW has said that some households face even steeper rises with the increases for the main water and sewerage companies ranging from 19% to 47%.’ The CEO of the CWW is quoted: “These rises are the largest we’ve seen since privatisation …”.
Sky News online also reports the increased charges coming to England and Wales: ‘Water bills in England and Wales to rise by average of £10 per month’. It notes: ’Water UK, which represents the water firms, said the average water and wastewater bill would go up from £480 to £603 during 2025/26 …’ And Sky News cautions: ‘Council tax is also among the bills set for above-inflation rises.’
Meanwhile in Scotland ….
Water Magazine reported on January 29: ‘Average monthly household bills will rise by £3.68 per month or £44 per year from 1 April 2025, equating to a rise of 9.9% in charges.’ (Recall the average is £10 per month in England and Wales but with rises ranging from 19% to 47%!)
It adds: ‘More than half (52%) of the 2.6m+ households in Scotland receive financial support with their charges, either through the application of a discount, exemption or reduction meeting set criteria. Water and waste water charges to licensed providers who supply businesses and other non-domestic customers will also increase by the same amount.’
On January 28, the Scotland section of the BBC News website had this headline: ‘Why Scottish Water bills are kicking up a storm’. It reports: ‘A rise in Scottish Water bills at four times the current rate of price inflation takes some swallowing.’ You will recall the rather different framing in the BBC News website’s headline above a report of an average 26% rise in England and Wales – ‘Water bills to rise by £10 a month in April’. An increase of between 19% and 47% doesn’t merit ‘kicking up a storm’!
The Scotsman (January 29) had this headline: ‘Why your water bills in Scotland are soaring by 9.9% from April’. It features the inevitable response to this ‘soaring’ increase from the British Labour Party:
‘Jackie Baillie, deputy leader of Scottish Labour, said: “It is a gross insult that Scots are being forced to pay for eye-watering bill hikes while Scottish Water’s chief executive rakes in £50,000 a month.
“The SNP is responsible for Scottish Water and approved this inflation-busting rise during a cost-of-living crisis. The SNP must reverse this outrageous decision.’
It’s hard to resist paraphrasing the statements of this British Labour Party spokesperson in Scotland!
The Scotsman references Consumer Scotland’s head of water towards the end of the article: “This is a steep increase in water bills for consumers at a time when many households and businesses are already coping with a range of pressures on budgets. “We note the increase is within the parameters set by the water regulator and that Scottish Water has in previous years held back increases in bills during the cost-of-living crisis to protect consumers … however, this significant increase highlights ongoing issues of affordability for some consumers.”
If ‘steep’, if ‘soaring’ at 9.9% what is it when the rises range between 19% and 47%?
Context
Back in 2023, the Daily Record had this headline (July 15): ‘Scots pay cheaper water bills than in England after ‘rejecting privatisation – The annual average household water bill is almost 10 per cent more in England than in Scotland, according to official figures.’
It reports: ‘Research by the House of Commons Library found the annual average bill was £410 north of the border compared to £448 elsewhere.’ So that favourable difference for households in Scotland is about to increase substantially.
And we learn: ‘The CEO of Severn Trent Water was paid £3.9million in 2021/22 – more than nine times the salary of the Scottish Water CEO’ and quotes figures which indicate that privatised water companies in England and Wales paid out at least £32.7 billion in dividends to shareholders between 2002/03 and 2021/22.
And more from recent history: the Daily Record (February 3, 2023) had this headline: ‘Water charges to rise by 5% from April as cost of living crisis continues to hit Scots’.
We’re told: ‘Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “It beggars belief that the SNP are letting Scottish Water hike bills at a time when so many people are struggling to make ends meet.” And: “If the SNP really want to help people through this cost-of-living crisis, they need to stop this painful bill hike going ahead and freeze water rates.”
End note
It’s worthwhile reflecting on the cautionary remark in the Sky News article on water charges referred to above: ‘Council tax is also among the bills set for above-inflation rises.’
The Scotsman (April 11, 2024) had this headline: ‘Our council tax bills for 2024/25 arrived earlier this month – but how do they compare with other parts of the country? – Last year saw council tax in most areas of Scotland rise by at least five per cent after the Scottish Government announced that the freeze enforced since 2007 had come to an end.’
The article reports on the range of Council Tax charges across in Scotland for 2024/25, noting:
- Highest Band D bill = Midlothian, at £1,514.73
- Lowest Band D bill = Shetland, at £1,260.61.
More insights into difference across Great Britain in 2024-25 for the benchmark average Band D tax can be found here: https://propertydata.co.uk/council-tax:
- of the cohort of 35 local authorities in GB with the lowest tax, 33 are in Scotland – the exceptions are Wandsworth and Westminster in London which have the lowest rates of all
- the highest tax charge reported in Scotland is for Argyll & Bute at £1,627
- the lowest tax charge reported in Wales is for Caerphilly at £1,813
- the highest charge in Wales is for Merthyr Tydfil at £2,329 and in England for Rutland at £2,543.
Now there may well be a case for higher Council Tax charges in order to boost revenues for local authorities. There certainly seems to be a case for the latter ate ease the harms of prolonged austerity as a consequence of Westminster policies.
The present Council Tax system may be far from the optimal, fairest, most progressive mechanism to achieve this goal. However, getting cross-party agreement on radical reform may be a long way off in a parliament elected by proportional representation and which candidly, can often be toxically oppositional as exemplified by statements from British Labour Party spokespersons in Scotland.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
” However, getting cross-party agreement on radical reform may be a long way off in a parliament elected by proportional representation and which candidly, IS toxically oppositional as exemplified by statements from British Labour Party spokespersons in Scotland ” – Fixed it for you…..
To be frank, SW will have an eye on what is happening in England to guide their own rate increases, but not having shareholders to consider, every penny over what they can get by on will be ploughed into infrastructure etc..
The “gross insult” for Scots is that Damn Jackie Baillie’s political rhetoric will be repeated ad nauseum by BBC Scotland, context-free, with similar hyperbolic statements from her two fellow oppositionist
For further context – Although the headline 47% for Southern Water customers is to paraphrase Damn Jackie an eye-watering bill hike, it is nowhere near enough for the massive problems they face, primary of which is they are fast running out of potable water – Westminster were warned of this ca 50 years ago with advice on what they should do, pretty much all of which was ignored….
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One must assume that Damn Jackie would NOT raise Water Charges if , by some catastrophic Act of God , she was in a position of power .
Labour does NOT support rises in Income Tax , especially of Higher Rates , as previously stated by the champion of the rich , Sarwar .
Labour have previously condemned the Council Tax freeze , while also supporting it ( ?) , so clearly they have all bases covered .
Damn Jackie will be scouring her dictionary/thesaurus to find a stronger phrase than ”eye watering ” to describe Water rises in Wales , where her Labour compatriots have ruled over ”………….. rises in Water Bills ” since …forever !
After Water Bills , she will turn her attention to ….whatever distraction Labour requires to avoid us focusing on the calamitous Public Services in England and Wales .
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O/T but also Labour party related.
Online one can still read from the Labour party website an article “Reset our politics”.
This is worth rereading as this formed the basis of many accusations made against both the Tory party and the SNP and also pledges Labour were making to Scotland.
One part stated that “the SNP has also failed to uphold the standards expected in public life. The scandals may be different, but the SNP has also sought to protect its own and failed to address the behaviour of its MPs and MSPs, from sexual harassment scandals to accusations of financial mismanagement and defending the inappropriate use of public expenses. The people of Scotland also deserve better from their representatives”.
So since winning the General election in 2024 what scandals have been linked to the Labour party ?
The Freebies scandal involving Keir Starmer and other Labour ministers.
Labour MP Tulip Siddiq resigned as a Labour’s anti-corruption minister as it was reported that “she had been named in an investigation into claims her family embezzled up to £3.9bn from infrastructure projects in Bangladesh”. It was also alleged that the “Labour party has long known about Siddiq’s links to her scandal-hit aunt”.
Labour MP Mike Amesbury has now admitted assault by beating after a video emerged showing him punching a man to the ground in his Cheshire constituency.
Labour MP , Jaz Athwal, the MP for Ilford South owns 15 properties, making him the biggest landlord in the House of Commons , was accused of owning flats that contained dirty communal areas, lights that did not work and fire alarms hanging loose from the ceiling and it was also revealed that flats that he rents out had black mould and ant infestations.
But wait what about scandals with Labour prior to the 2024 general election.
Former Labour MP Simon Danczuk alleged to have “exchanged explicit messages with a 17-year-old girl” and he stated “he apologised unreservedly for his “inappropriate” behaviour, adding: “I was stupid [and] there’s no fool like an old fool.”.
In 2023 a Labour MP had accused her party of “choosing not to act” on allegations of sexual misconduct by its MPs. Charlotte Nichols , MP for Warrington North, said Labour’s hierarchy knew about allegations against current MPs, but “can’t even keep our own house in order”.
Geraint Davies, former Labour MP for Swansea West up to 2024, was “suspended from the Labour Party after five women accused him of sexual harassment”. Also disclosed was that ” based on interviews with those who had worked with Davies, that he had a reputation of “excessive drinking, sexual comments and unwanted touching” toward younger women in the workplace and also Two of his colleagues claimed Davies had “boasted” about bringing sex workers into parliament for drinks”.
Keith Vaz , former Labour MP for Leicester East, who was a married man and where there was various different scandals linked to him but the one of a sexual nature was the one where he had engaged the services of Male prostitutes and where he told them he would pay for Cocaine if they wished to use it.
Then of course here in Scotland we had Labour MSP Monica Lennon accuse a senior member of the Labour party of sexual assault, as yet she has not named this senior Labour party member so he remains protected, as does the Labour party also on this.
Also the revelations from a newspaper that Labour MSP Alex Rowley had sent “abusive text messages to a former partner” and believe it not The Daily Record (pre Paul Hutcheon) on 16th November 2017 had a headline on their front page that “Labour accused of cover up” on this as they apparently knew about the harassment claims but Labour threatened legal action when Journalists first told them of this” so Rowley was only suspended by Labour 5 weeks after claims of harassment surfaced in the media.
So really what is the point of Labour highlighting online in an article that the SNP have “failed to uphold the standards expected in public life” and also that “the SNP has also sought to protect its own and failed to address the behaviour of its MPs and MSP’s” when clearly Labour themselves have been guilty of both of these types of behaviour.
How many broken windows now in Labour’s Glass house of political double standards where assumed standards and expected behaviour only applies to others and not to the Labour party apparently.
Liz S
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