Standing Up for Mid Sussex on Water

Alison Bennett has been leading the charge against the continual failures of the water companies.

In January 2026, responding to South East Water raising bills by 7% while under investigation by Ofwat, Alison Bennett branded the water industry “a failed industry” and called for a parliamentary debate on a mutual ownership model for water companies.

Local residents shouldn’t have to foot the bill for the failures of private water companies to clean up the mess they themselves created. After everything that customers across Sussex and Kent have put up with over the winter, this decision - in the midst of an ongoing cost-of-living crisis - is insulting. No resident should be paying hiked bills whilst they continue to question whether they will have water running from their taps. 

Infrastructure and leakages:

Every day, an average of 3 billion litres of water is lost in England and Wales due to leaky pipes, enough to fill 1,200 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats shows these leaks are costing customers £396 million a year.

Water companies like South East Water have had years to fix these problems, but too often they fail to invest in the infrastructure that keeps our taps running.

Alison has called out water companies for their repeated failures to maintain pipelines and protect our water supply. She raised this directly with Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband and has attended urgent meetings with water companies to review their long-term infrastructure plans, pushing for real accountability for Mid Sussex residents.

Commenting on the leaks, Alison said: 

“Water companies like South East Water have had years to fix leaks and invest in long-term infrastructure, but they’ve repeatedly failed to deliver. It’s time for real accountability, and that means stronger regulation to make sure our water supply is secure for the future.”

“Households in Mid Sussex are being told to do their bit with hosepipe bans while the company fails to do theirs, and at the same time our bills keep going up.”

Alison is continuing to campaign for stronger regulation, including replacing Ofwat with a regulator that will hold water companies to account and ensure a secure, sustainable water supply for residents. Help her achieve this by signing her Scrap the Water Bill Price Hike petition, here.

Water Bosses Bonuses

Alison and her Liberal Democrat colleagues share in the public’s outrage at increasing annual bonuses taken by water company executives, whilst these water crises prevail. With Southern Water bosses' bonuses hitting £26 million since 2019 despite the ongoing scandals. 

Water companies have been able to act recklessly for too long, spilling millions of litres of sewage into our rivers and seas while lining the pockets of those at the top. Meanwhile, customers are expected to continue paying high prices, while our natural world pays the price.

Fines need to be tougher and applied immediately, so that those who are responsible face real consequences for doing so. Ofwat failed to do this, and we must now have a body that is truly committed to keeping our water clean and safe for us all.

Alison Bennett said:

“The water industry is utterly broken and Ofwat has proven itself completely incapable of holding these polluting firms to account and protecting our area's environment.

“This Conservative government has failed to hold water companies to account. Our water industry needs top to bottom reform but Conservative Ministers have sat idly by as the sewage scandal has wrecked our waterways.

“Liberal Democrats here in Mid Sussex have led the campaign against sewage dumping and with our plans for a new regulator we would end these disgraceful bonuses and profits and make sure Southern Water has to protect our environment.”