Labour accused of betrayal for scrapping Cornwall water bills rebate

The government has taken a pounding from Liberal Democrat MPs and Conservative councillors in Cornwall after announcing it would scrap the water bill help for South West Water customers. The £50 water bill contribution was first introduced by the Lib Dems during their coalition power sharing time with the Conservatives under David Cameron.

Now the Labour government has decided to ditch the contribution as a way to save money when it has been saying since coming to power in July that the cupboards are bare. Ben Maguire, the Lib Dem MP for North Cornwall said the £50 help had been a crucial measure to help mitigate the financial strain on customers in the South West, who have historically paid among the highest water bills in the country, partly due to tourism spikes in population and water use.

He warned that the removal of this support will likely lead to an increase in bills from April 2025, further exacerbating the challenges faced by local families. He said: "This move is a betrayal of the hardworking families in North Cornwall. Our constituents are already paying exorbitant rates for a service that fails to meet basic quality standards and continues to discharge sewage into our waters.

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"Removing this £50 contribution is unacceptable and will hit local households hard - affecting people who are already struggling to pay their bills. I will be raising this in Parliament in the coming days."

He added: "The people of North Cornwall deserve better, and I will fight to hold the Government and South West Water accountable for ensuring affordable and reliable services for all."

His colleague in West Cornwall Andrew George piled the pressure on, adding: "Cornish water bill payers are already paying exorbitant rates for a service that fails to meet basic quality standards and continues to discharge sewage into our waters.

"Naturally, we never anticipated this assistance would continue forever, but we expected government ministers to use it as a bargaining chip to secure better outcomes for bill payers. But this - in the way it has been announced - will hit households hard - affecting people who are already struggling to pay their bills.

"I’ve already raised concerns in Parliament about the way the government is handling this crisis and will be raising further questions in the coming days. I and my colleagues will hold the Government and South West Water accountable for ensuring the company cleans up its act and stops taking customers for granted."

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The decision to scrap the help for water bills, which is expected to kick in on March 31, 2025, comes on the back of Labour MPs voting to remove the winter fuel allowance for many pensioners.

Emma Hardy, MP, minister for water and flooding, said the government had been forced to take "difficult decisions" to restore financial stability and added that the difference between water bills in the South West and other regions had decreased so the £50 subsidy no longer made sense.

She told the BBC: "The government is committed to taking action to address water poverty and help vulnerable customers with their water bills. All water companies have measures in place for people who struggle to pay for their water and wastewater services, including measures such as WaterSure, social tariffs, payment breaks and holidays, and debt management support."

Cllr Linda Taylor, the Conservative leader of Cornwall Council, said the decision was deeply disturbing, and accused the Labour Government of "continued and relentless attacks on the people of the South West".

She said: "Our former Cornish Conservative MPs worked hard to passionately and successfully to make the case to the Conservative Government to introduce and maintain the much-welcomed £50 annual government-funded rebate for South West Water’s customers and the Government listened and maintained it for 11 years from 2013 - £50 that came straight off people’s bills.

“However on taking power the Labour Government has been quick to action and remove this subsidy. Along with its attacks on older people with the removal of the Winter Fuel Payment, working people with the raising of national insurance contributions paid by employers, and family farms with changes to inheritance tax, this disgraceful Labour Government is showing there are no depths it will not plumb in its quest to damage the communities and areas we represent."

She added: "When the Government is asked to justify their actions, we are told ‘that’s just the way it is’. This simply is not good enough, but with our Labour Cornish MPs towing the Government line, as always, I will continue to speak out and condemn their reckless and damaging actions when it is merited. The people of Cornwall deserve better than these Starmer sycophants."

We have asked Cornwall's four Labour MPs Perran Moon, MP for Camborne and Redruth, Jayne Kirkham, MP for Truro and Falmouth, Noah Law, MP for St Austell and Newquay and Anna Gelderd, MP for South East Cornwall for a comment but none have responded.

Meanwhile SWW said changes to customers' bills will happen from April 2025 and it is working with Ofwat to see how much it will be allowed to raise bills by.

About the £50 government contribution, SWW said: "The £50 contribution has been an important step to ensure bills remain manageable for our customers who have helped to fund this essential coastal protection for the entire country. The contribution has directly benefited customers.

"We have driven efficiencies with bills lower today in real terms than they were 10 years ago. We have also delivered £100m of support to customers in this regulatory period who require help with their bills, and we are on track to eradicate water poverty.

"Looking ahead to the 2025-2030 period, we plan to invest a further £2.8bn in the region and to increase our package of financial support to over £200m. We are doubling down on our commitment to eradicate water poverty by 2030, one of only a handful of water companies doing so."

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