Helen Hayes MP criticised for failing to speak out against Thames Water

Helen Hayes – MP for Dulwich and West Norwood – has yet to sign an open letter calling for Special Administration of Thames Water. 82 MPs – including 39 Labour …

May 13, 2026 - 12:18

Helen Hayes MP criticised for failing to speak out against Thames Water

Helen Hayes – MP for Dulwich and West Norwood – has yet to sign an open letter calling for Special Administration of Thames Water.

82 MPs – including 39 Labour MPs – have signed an open letter to Ofwat and the Environment Secretary, urging them to ‘place Thames Water in Special Administration without delay’ [1].

Thames Water’s creditors are currently negotiating with Ofwat for the future of the utility. As part of their takeover bid, they are asking to dodge fines until 2030, and for their pollution targets to be suspended or ‘significantly modified’ [2].

Ofwat’s Board are currently split over whether or not to accept the deal [3].

If it goes ahead, Thames Water – which dumped 80,000 hours of sewage in the first 6 weeks of 2026 alone – will be given greater environmental leniency [4].

If rejected, it is possible that Thames Water will go into Special Administration, a form of temporary public ownership.

Helen Hayes has received 67 emails from constituents, asking her to add her name to the open letter.

On her website – presumably from some years ago – Helen Hayes stated that ‘the privatisation of the water industry has instead created a focus on profits for private shareholders, leaving customers paying high prices for worse services.’ [5].

This comes as a burst pipe in West Norwood has cut supplies to households across the constituency.

These outages also affect the Streatham constituency of former Environment Secretary Steve Reed.

We Own It has been co-ordinating an open letter to Ofwat and the Environment Secretary, calling on them to reject the creditors’ deal. They are asking all MPs to sign, and say no to setting a dangerous new precedent on sewage pollution.

83 MPs have already signed, including MPs from across the Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Labour and Green Parties [5].

Sophie Conquest – Lead Campaigner at We Own It – said:

“Thames Water wants to be rewarded for its abysmal failure with a regulatory holiday. And they want us to foot the bill”
“The average Thames Water bill is now £658. During a cost of living crisis, households have no choice but to pay more and more for a broken service and sewage-filled rivers”
“This deal is outrageous. We cannot allow failing water companies to set the terms of their own regulation.”
“Ever single MP should be adding their name to this letter, in order to stand up for the interests of their constituents”
“By taking Thames Water into Special Administration, we can slash the debts and give billpayers and the environment a fair deal”.