Anglian Water fat cats pocket nearly £2m as bills spiral and massive leaks claims union

Thirty years on from privatisation – amid spiralling bills and massive leaks – Anglian Water bosses trousered almost £1,921,000 in 2018 alone - a massive 20 per cent increase on the year before.

The figures come from a joint investigation into their company accounts by GMB and Corporate Watch revealed at GMB’s Congress in Brighton this week.

They are released as part of GMB’s ‘Take Back The Tap’ campaign to bring England’s privatised water industry back into public ownership.

While water bosses pocketed eye-watering sums, consumer water bills in England and Wales have increased by 40 per cent above inflation since privatisation in 1989 according to a report by the National Audit Office.

Tim Roache, GMB general secretary, said: “Thirty years on from Margaret Thatcher’s privatisation of water it’s clear this ideological experiment is a complete flop.

“Customers are forking out millions to private water's top brass through their ever increasing bills, while billions of gallons are wasted every year and we get whacked by hosepipe bans in the summer. I'm not sure how much more evidence is needed to show that this is just not working.

“It's time to Take Back the Tap - water is a natural monopoly, that every home, family and individual needs, it should be in public hands not used for shareholder profit."