Don't expect water bills to stop rising after we overhaul sector, minister warns
Steve Reed is expected to set out plans for a major reform of the water sector tomorrow, which will tackle sewage spills, invest in water infrastructure and abolish the industry's beleaguered regulator Ofwat.
It comes as ministers seek to avoid a repeat of this year's 26% increase in bills.
But while Mr Reed has promised that families will never again see 'huge shock hikes' to their bills, he was unable to rule out further above-inflation increases.
He told Sky News's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that bills should be 'as low as possible', he added that there needed to be 'appropriate bill rises' to secure investment.
He said: 'A small, steady increase in bills is what people expect.'
Asked about the possibility of expanding social tariffs to help households struggling with bills – a move that could see wealthier families pay more – Mr Reed said he had 'not been convinced yet' that this was necessary.
Mr Reed has also pledged to halve sewage pollution in England by 2030, after the Environment Agency said serious pollution incidents had risen by 60% in 2024.
He also suggested to the BBC that he would resign if the 2030 target was not achieved, provided he was still in the same job by then.
His comments come before a major report by former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe, which is expected to recommend sweeping reform to water regulation on Monday.
Sir Jon has been widely reported to be preparing to recommend the abolition of Ofwat, which has faced criticism over its handling of sewage spills and allowing water companies to pay large dividends while taking on significant debt and missing targets for investing in infrastructure.
On Sunday, Mr Reed would not say whether he would scrap Ofwat, but also declined to say he had confidence in the regulator. More Trending
He told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: 'The regulator is clearly failing.'
MP Victoria Atkins, Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: 'After years of underperformance across the water industry, no one is pretending the situation is simple and we acknowledge more should have been done when we were in government. But honesty matters now more than ever.
'This morning, Steve Reed made sweeping claims about investment and reform without addressing the practical costs or consequences for households.
'Fixing the water system requires serious long-term work, which includes dealing with pollution, improving resilience, and restoring public confidence. We will engage constructively where there's common ground, but we won't let Labour duck accountability for the choices they're making now.'
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: Plane crashes at Olympic National Park killing one and injuring two
MORE: Why was the Sycamore Gap tree cut down and who was responsible?
MORE: Here's why there are so many ladybirds in the UK right now
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Spectator
an hour ago
- Spectator
Why I left the Conservatives
There comes a moment for many soldiers – and most politicians – when you realise the battle you think you're fighting isn't the one your leaders are waging. That moment came for me watching Kemi Badenoch tell Sky News's Trevor Phillips there are real differences between Reform UK and the Conservatives. She was right. The difference is the Reform leadership – voters grasp the scale of our national peril and back a party serious about addressing it. Many in Britain feel we may already have passed the point of no return. Our cities grow less cohesive, the country effectively bankrupt. For over a year, Conservative colleagues have insisted Reform was just a noisy protest vehicle. 'We're all saying the same things,' they claimed. But we're not. Kemi was correct: the differences are real – and it's those differences that brought me, with regret but clarity, to conclude I am no longer a Conservative. I remain a conservative – as do millions of voters – but our values now align more with Reform. This isn't hard when the government I supported presided over the arrival of well over four million mostly unskilled migrants and their dependents. You can't blame people for wanting better for their families – but you can blame a government, my government, for allowing 728,000 net arrivals in a single year. The army has 33 infantry battalions; since 2018, we've let in nearly 250 battalions' worth of undocumented young men of military age. And it was the Conservatives who launched the well-meant but job-exporting Net Zero agenda, pushing UK energy prices to four times those in the US. Now the Conservatives offer cautious reform: modest tax cuts, a managed Net Zero transition, an inquiry into the ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights). Reform offers a sharper reset: immediate tax cuts, hard borders, and a clear-out of ideologically captured institutions. One wants course correction. The other believes only bold change can restore public trust. The Conservative party I thought I joined believed in sovereignty, secure borders, low taxes, personal responsibility, and cultural confidence. That party is no longer in government – and no longer deserves to be. It wasn't just defeated at the ballot box – it was hollowed out by careerists masquerading as conservatives. They got there thanks to CCHQ's obsession with the divisive dogma of 'diversity, equality, and inclusion' (DEI) over merit and sense. A government elected on promises of control and competence delivered drift, disillusionment, and denial. Reform's policies are not extreme. Some of my former media colleagues smear them as such. They should look to themselves. As a Sikh friend said: Reform is refreshingly colour-blind. Its platform is what the Conservative manifesto should have been: tax and regulatory reform, full border control, energy sovereignty, making Brexit work, restoring national pride, and the first duty of government – protecting the public. When I talk to people in Gravesham in Kent, the seat I served for 19 years, they don't bring up DEI or Net Zero. They talk about the boats. About crime, housing, doctors, bills, and broken services. And the quiet anger at seeing economic migrants in hotels seemingly prioritised over British citizens — including homeless veterans. They see a system that punishes effort and rewards dependency. This is not ideology. It is betrayal. A former cabinet minister friend recently said: 'Reform may win many more seats — and just split the vote again.' But that misses the point. The vote is already split. For millions, the Conservative party stopped being a conservative vehicle long before it was thrown out of office. Reform has taken up that mantle – and wears it with pride. 'They're the only party speaking common sense,' a local Reform supporter told me. 'The Tories became Labour-lite.' He's not wrong: think Chagos, woke policy drift, tax hikes, and the slow purge of the wealth creators who fund the system. From the refusal to cut migration, to cowardice in confronting public-sector radicals, to the erosion of free speech, the Conservatives chose to manage decline, not resist it. Labour, of course, is worse – not just timid but dangerous. Their instinct is always for more state, more spending, more control. The Conservatives at least hesitated before doing harm. Labour doesn't even pause. We cannot hand them another blank cheque in 2029 because the so-called Right remains divided. This is no time for technocrats or those who simply fancy being Prime Minister. It requires conviction. Kemi is a fighter – but she's surrounded by too many who'd be Lib Dems if the Lib Dems were winning. She can't charge from a trench full of MPs who won't follow her. I joined the Army to serve the country, not the institution. The same applies now. If we want to rescue Britain, we must be honest about who's still willing to fight for her. Reform is not perfect – but it is serious. I didn't leave the Conservative party, it left me. It used good people's votes to govern as Labour-lite and squabble over promotions. In doing so, it handed Britain to an ignorant and disastrous Labour government. Some may say I've moved to Reform because it may win my old seat. Of course, that's a consideration. But it's not the reason. I know the road from protest to power is long. Reform may flare bright and fade. It must grow beyond its extraordinary founder, lose some of its more combative edges, continue to attract serious talent, further professionalise, and develop to become a credible government-in-waiting. That will require discipline, time, and luck to challenge the deep vested interests in Parliament, the civil service, the unions, and the wider public sector. No: I've made this choice not because it's easy or inevitable, but because right-thinking people need to come together. As Ronald Reagan said, 'You gotta dance with the one that brung ya.' The Conservative party forgot to dance with the people who brought it to power. The challenge for Reform – and any future allies – is to become fully fit and credible for the rescue mission of 2029, which may well be the United Kingdom's last best chance.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
The dreamy Caribbean islands giving out passports if you buy a home there - and they're MUCH cheaper than the UK
Five dream holiday destinations in the Caribbean are offering a tempting deal to wealthy expats: invest in a home and receive a second passport in return. Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts & Nevis, and Saint Lucia have become global hotspots for citizenship-by-investment (CBI) programs. These schemes promise dual nationality to individuals who purchase approved real estate, starting at USD $200,000 (£149,688). In return, buyers are issued with a Caribbean passport that can unlock visa-free access to over 150 countries, including the UK and the EU's Schengen Zone. What's more, there are no residency requirements, no language tests, and, in some cases, no income or inheritance taxes. Applications are also often processed in less than 90 days. One Canadian investor, Robert Taylor, plans to retire later this year in Antigua, where his new home awaits him. Speaking to the BBC, he said: 'I chose Antigua because it has beautiful water, I find the people very, very friendly and it also means great weather for the later part of my life.' But while the offer of visa-free travel and a new home in the tropics seems all too tempting, experts warn there's more to the story. In return, buyers are issued with a Caribbean passport that can unlock visa-free access to over 150 countries, including the UK and the EU's Schengen Zone In recent years, programs such as citizenship-by-investment (CBI) have come under pressure, as reported by Stuff. The European Union and the United States have warned that passports should not be handed out too easily - especially to people who may be hiding or laundering money, or avoiding the law. As a result, these five Caribbean nations agreed in 2024 to tighten their rules, raise minimum investment amounts and improve background checks. Some countries are even revoking passports from people found to have lied or failed checks - as Dominica did with 68 individuals recently, according to Global Citizen Solutions. There are also delays in applications, with some prospective buyers waiting up to a year for a chance to purchase a home in Saint Lucia.
South Wales Guardian
4 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Minister doubles down on colleague's claim Farage on side of Jimmy Savile
The Reform UK leader is 'happy for there to be a free for all on the internet', the Transport Secretary said, as she defended Peter Kyle's comments. The Technology Secretary had accused Mr Farage of being on the side of 'extreme pornographers' over Reform's pledge to scrap the Online Safety Act. Asked if she agrees with Mr Kyle's statement, Ms Alexander told Sky News: 'Nigel Farage is, in effect, saying that he is on their side because he's saying he's wanting to repeal the Online Safety Act. 'I think that the position of Reform in saying that they want to repeal the entirety of the Online Safety Act, which is one of the most important pieces of legislation when it comes to the protecting of our children and the safety of young people online, I think that, in effect, what Nigel Farage is saying is that he's totally happy for there to be a free for all on the internet. 'That's not the position of the Labour Government. It's not the position of me. It's not the position of Keir Starmer or Peter Kyle, and that is the point that the Technology Secretary was rightly making yesterday.' Mr Farage has demanded an apology from Mr Kyle, describing the remarks as 'so absolutely disgusting that it's almost beyond belief'. Speaking to Sky News on Tuesday, the minister had said: 'We have people out there who are extreme pornographers, peddling hate, peddling violence. Nigel Farage is on their side. 'Make no mistake about it, if people like Jimmy Savile were alive today, he'd be perpetrating his crimes online. And Nigel Farage is saying that he's on their side.' Following this, Clacton MP Mr Farage urged people to sign a petition calling for the legislation to be repealed. Writing in the Telegraph, Mr Kyle said proposals to overturn the Act 'makes my blood boil', as he argued repealing it would benefit 'disgusting predators who contact children and groom them online'. He added: 'I make no apologies for putting the interests of vulnerable children ahead of the interests of predators and child abusers – and the Reform leader's ego.' Also writing for the newspaper, Mr Farage said 'all of this is of course a deflection from the real problem with the Online Safety Act', as he raised concerns over ID checks. He added: 'In the name of safety, the Act poses the biggest threat to freedom of speech in this country in our lifetimes. 'In the name of protecting children, the law aims to regulate what adults are allowed to say or see – while doing nothing to make our children safer.' Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said making statements about overturning the Bill is 'very lazy' and 'not responsible'. Under rules that came into effect on July 25, online platforms such as social media sites and search engines must take steps to prevent children accessing harmful content such as pornography or material that encourages suicide. Sir Keir Starmer jumped to defend the legislation from its critics when he met Donald Trump on Monday, telling reporters: 'We're not censoring anyone. 'We've got some measures which are there to protect children, in particular, from sites like suicide sites.' The Prime Minister added: 'I personally feel very strongly that we should protect our young teenagers, and that's what it usually is, from things like suicide sites. I don't see that as a free speech issue, I see that as child protection.'
