Hi John, it’s Henry here with an update on our #BanTheBailouts petition.

Whilst the Water Bill still has a final few formal stages to go through, our ability to influence it has come to a close - so here’s the outcome of all our hard work.

💷 The government has promised that the power in the Bill will not be used to bail out shareholders or creditors. While this isn’t the change in the law we demanded, this promise is something we can hold government accountable for. We are watching!

💦 The industry review will now include looking at alternative water company models. This is a positive step towards the radical reform that we’ve been calling for and a chance to end pollution for profit.

🌱 Ofwat must make decisions with environmental and climate targets in mind. The Bill has been amended to ensure this happens moving forward.

✊ The fact that the Water Bill exists is a big win. This is testament to campaigning during and after the election last year to get this issue at the top of the political agenda.

📝 Every signature on our #BanTheBailouts petition helped add weight to our demands - we achieved just shy of 30,000. 

🤝 We wrote and delivered briefings to MPs at every stage, working collaboratively with other environmental campaigning charities.

📢 We created amendments alongside academics and grassroots campaigners and advocated for them with MPs and Lords.

✊ The March For Clean Water in London last year showed the new government that they need to take immediate action.

📧 Everyone who emailed their MP asking them to tackle our polluted waters has helped influence their local representative’s stance on this Bill. If you haven’t done this yet, hit the button below!

Together, we’ve achieved a lot. But we’re not stopping here. The fight continues.✊

Our attention now turns to the Water Commission - an independent commission that will provide recommendations on the future of the water sector. We’re also meeting with top advisors in DEFRA in the coming days.

Watch this space. 👀

For the ocean,

Henry, Policy Manager