Feargal Sharkey has accused the body representing water customers of consulting the industry on how companies should be held accountable under Labour’s planned regulatory overhaul.
The former Undertones frontman turned water campaigner attacked the Consumer Council for Water after documents revealed it had established an industry advisory group while developing new customer panels.
The panels are intended to allow households to question water company executives directly and demand action over poor service.
However, the disclosure that water companies were invited to provide ideas and feedback about the scheme has prompted warnings that the industry is being given too much influence over the system designed to scrutinise it.
Sharkey told The Guardian: “This is a stitch-up.”
He added: “The CCW is asking the extorters what should be happening to the victims.”
CCW has strongly rejected the characterisation, insisting it consulted companies only about the practical arrangements needed to secure their participation.
What are the new Water Voice panels?
The Consumer Council for Water says it has established 16 Water Voice panels across England and Wales, with one covering each water company area.
Around 50 customers will sit on each panel. Participants are being selected through random sampling and targeted recruitment intended to reflect different ages, regions and economic backgrounds.
According to CCW’s official explanation, panel members will share their experiences and question companies about their performance. The organisation says their feedback will influence how water firms communicate with customers and respond to concerns.
The panels are also expected to hold accountability sessions attended by senior company figures.
Ministers previously described the initiative as giving consumers a stronger voice over how their bills are spent and how companies deal with service failures.
Customers could raise problems including prolonged supply interruptions, disputed bills and sewage entering their homes. The sessions are intended to result in action plans setting out what companies will do in response.
Documents reveal industry advisory group
Documents obtained under freedom of information laws reportedly show that CCW established an “industry advisory group” to receive ideas, feedback and advice from water companies while designing the panels.
Campaigners fear this could allow companies to weaken the scrutiny they face or influence the rules surrounding their executives’ appearances.
Sharkey argued that customers who have endured rising bills and repeated service failures should determine how the system operates.
He also warned that consumers would struggle to obtain meaningful redress if the companies being questioned helped shape the process.
CCW said it was a “complete misrepresentation” to suggest companies had been allowed to decide how they would be held accountable.
A spokesperson said the discussions covered practical matters, such as giving chief executives enough notice to attend sessions and ensuring action plans were prepared on time.
The distinction matters. Consulting companies about dates and administrative arrangements is different from allowing them to determine what questions can be asked or what consequences they might face. The freedom of information documents have nevertheless created concern about how independent the panels will be in practice.
Complaints have risen sharply
The controversy comes as the number of complaints about water companies continues to rise.
CCW received 80 per cent more complaints during 2025-26 than in the previous year, despite receiving no corresponding increase in resources.
Separate figures showed that more than 16,000 complaints were submitted to the organisation in 2025, compared with 10,600 during 2024. Affordability became the most common concern after water companies were permitted to increase bills to fund infrastructure work.
Ofwat approved an average 36 per cent rise in bills between 2025 and 2030, with much of the increase reaching households in April 2025.
Customers have questioned why they are paying substantially more while leaks continue and sewage is discharged into waterways.
There has also been anger over company debt and executive remuneration, particularly where senior figures received large payments despite poor environmental or customer-service records.
Southern Water received the highest number of complaints relative to its customer base among the largest providers, followed by Severn Trent and Thames Water, according to figures reported earlier this year.
Labour preparing to replace Ofwat
The row has emerged as Labour prepares legislation to dismantle the existing regulatory system.
Ofwat is expected to be replaced by a new regulator with stronger supervisory powers. Under proposals reported by The Guardian, experts could be placed inside struggling water companies to monitor whether they are complying with the law and improving their environmental performance.
The government also intends to create an independent water ombudsman with powers to investigate complaints and secure resolutions for customers.
A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson said the current system had failed to operate in the public interest and that the government wanted to give customers more control while keeping bills as low as possible.
Ministers say the ombudsman will ensure complaints are treated seriously and settled more quickly.
The legislation is likely to be judged on whether the new bodies can impose meaningful consequences rather than merely allowing customers to voice their frustration.
Pressure growing over Thames Water
Prime Minister Andy Burnham is also facing pressure to bring Thames Water into public ownership as the company struggles under debts of around £20 billion.
The government has considered placing Thames Water into special administration, but officials are reportedly concerned about the cost and the possibility of legal action from creditors.
Burnham has previously argued that the water industry needs a greater degree of public control, while Labour MPs have proposed converting failing companies into customer-owned mutuals.
The government has yet to commit to full nationalisation across the sector.
For campaigners, the dispute over the Water Voice panels has become an early test of whether Labour’s reforms will transfer genuine power to customers or simply add another layer to the existing system.
CCW insists water companies will not control the panels. Sharkey and other critics now want proof that customers will be able to demand answers without the industry setting the boundaries.
2 responses to “‘This is a stitch-up’: Feargal Sharkey tears into Labour’s water customer plan”
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It should be regulated by a completly independant panel. With no vested intereat in the water companies.No way should they be allowed to dictate policy for curung a priblem they created.
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I’m a card-carrying member of the Labour Party. The inability of Labour to do the right thing, under two recent leaderships, regarding the water industry, is causing me to seriously question my continued support for it. The path they should take, without any serious financial repercussions for government coffers, has been clearly laid out – in detail – by the two scientists involved in the “Dirty Business” documentaries, and Feargal Sharkey. The government cannot be on the side of consumers (who have had decades of being screwed) and simultaneously, the water companies. Ofwat has been too close to the offenders. The creation of yet another regulatory agency is applying a sticking plaster where surgery is required.
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