This is an editorial opinion piece which first appeared in the Oxford Times.

Thames Water faced more public anger this year at sewage scandals and steep hikes to bills as the company teetered on the brink of collapse.

Even by the water industry’s standards, 2024 was a bad year for Oxfordshire's water supplier.

It is not our choice to be a customer of Thames Water, which supplies London and a quarter of the population. We need water to survive.

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It is a monopoly, there is no competition, and no possibility of any competition, to drive up standards.

Until the 1980s, providing drinking water and sewage services in England and Wales was considered a public health........

© The Oxford Times