Liberal Democrats say Kent water issues "unacceptable"
Sir Ed Davey is calling for a complete radical transformation of the water industry
The Liberal Democrats are calling for radical changes within the water industry and urging the government to take more decisive action against South East Water due to ongoing issues faced by communities in Kent.
Speaking to Hits and Greatest Hits radio Kent last week Ed Davey Said:
"Well, South East Water have been a total scandal. And the Liberal Democrats locally and nationally have led the campaign to hold them to account.
"We've urged the government to take far stronger, tougher measures on South East Water.
"What people are going through in Kent, where there's not been able to get any water at all, not trusting the water suppliers themselves, worried about sewage, it's quite unacceptable.
"And Liberal Democrats will never give up until we've sorted out this huge failure in the water industry.
On the topic of potential nationalisation versus alternatives he added:
"I think we got to see a complete radical transformation of the water industry.
"We've talked about mutualization, about not for profit companies, as they have in some other countries.
"It isn't nationalizing, which could cost a huge amount of money and be a distraction, but actually changing the way so that human health is put forward at the top, and the environment is put forward, clean water is put forward.
"So changing the the way the business is run is important. And we want a new regulator.
"We call it the Clean Water Authority, replacing Ofwat, with much tougher powers to crack down on water companies that don't deliver."
South East Water have publicly apologised for last week's outages, and encouraged any customers currently without water to get in touch, writing in one post about the situation:
"We are truly sorry for the interruption to your water supplies, this is not the service you deserve, or the service we aim to provide. "
A spokesperson also previously told us:
“We are very sorry and know how disruptive and frustrating losing water is, particularly during warm weather, and we apologise unreservedly for the impact these issues have had on the communities in Kent.”