Tim Farron welcomes decision to scrap Ofwat

Commenting on this morning’s news that the Government will scrap Ofwat and replace it with a new regulator, Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron said: “Since 2022, the Liberal Democrats have called for Ofwat to be replaced with a tougher regulator, now finally the government appears to have listened.

“This is a huge victory for local communities and groups here in Cumbria who have been actively campaigning for our rivers and lakes to be protected from sewage. But I’m disappointed that those campaign groups and volunteers are not being empowered as we proposed by adding them to water company boards and given them access to the resources and data they need to hold the water companies to account.

“We will now be studying this report in detail and holding the government’s feet to the fire to ensure these promises are delivered on. The days of wild west water companies paying out huge bonuses while ruining rivers with filthy sewage must finally be brought to an end.”