The celebrities joined campaigners at a “stop the sewage” demonstration in Leysdown-on-Sea, Kent, supporting a petition that has gathered more than 315,000 signatures in favour of public ownership.
Dani Dyer, a former Love Island winner, took a break from her Strictly Come Dancing rehearsals to attend the event alongside her father and other activists.
Ed Acteson, co-founder of SOS Whitstable and creator of the petition, said: “The public has had enough of being asked to accept polluted waterways, failing infrastructure and rising bills while shareholders and senior executives continue to be rewarded.
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Danny Dyer, Dani Dyer and singer Becky Hill with water campaigners at SOS Whitstable’s Stop the Sewage protest at Leysdown-on-Sea in Sheerness, Kent, calling for the water industry to be returned to public ownership following a petition signed by more than 316,000 people. (Image: Jim Bennett/PA Wire)
“Water is an essential public service, not a vehicle for private profit.
“We want an industry run in the interests of people and the environment, with its income reinvested in the system rather than extracted from it.”
Cliff Roney, a GMB activist who has worked in the water industry for more than 40 years, said the sector is in crisis.
Mr Roney said: “I have seen this industry at its very best and now at its very worst.
“Infrastructure is falling to pieces, there has been a lack of maintenance and investment, no reservoirs are being built, and staff are on their knees trying to keep the system running.
“If the industry is not brought back into public ownership quickly, we are heading towards a national catastrophe.”
The rally comes amid mounting pressure on the Government to reject a £10 billion rescue deal for Thames Water, backed by a consortium of more than 100 creditors, and instead return the company to public control.
The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) Committee warned that the proposed takeover prioritises “short-term value extraction” over long-term stability.
Alistair Carmichael, chairman of the Efra Committee, said: “We believe Thames Water can be turned around, but not by giving the keys back to the people who have been joy riding in the family car.
Danny Dyer (centre) and Dani Dyer with water campaigners at SOS Whitstable’s Stop the Sewage protest at Leysdown-on-Sea in Sheerness, Kent, calling for the water industry to be returned to public ownership following a petition signed by more than 316,000 people. (Image: Jim Bennett)
“The Government should reject offers from the company’s creditors in return for relief from fines for pollution and poor service.
“We do not believe this opaque consortium of 100 hedge funds and others has the interests of the public, the company or the environment at heart.”
Mr Carmichael said the company is likely to enter special administration once its funding runs out at the end of the year.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has previously called for a 10-year plan to renationalise the water industry, but the Government has yet to confirm whether Thames Water will be brought back into public ownership.
A Thames Water spokesperson said: “Thames Water needs to be recapitalised and put on a firm financial footing… anything that delays the recapitalisation risks slowing the turnaround.”
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