A radical overhaul of England’s water industry that would transfer ownership from shareholders to customers is being considered by Andy Burnham as he prepares for an early showdown over the future of Thames Water.
The proposal offers a potential route to public control without the cost of a taxpayer-funded nationalisation programme.
It has been developed by the Good Growth Foundation (GGF) – a progressive think-tank focused on economic growth and reform – alongside Labour and Co-operative MP Helena Dollimore.
It comes as he weighs up whether to place Thames Water into a Special Administration Regime (SAR), a process that would allow Britain’s largest water company to continue operating under government supervision while its long-term future is decided.
Sources familiar with the discussions say Burnham is considering mutualisation as a way to bring the water industry under greater public control without the potentially high taxpayer cost of full nationalisation. If the proposal was applied to Thames Water, it could provide a blueprint for the wider sector, with other companies able to voluntarily transition to customer-owned co-operatives through a share exchange model.
