Tom Gordon MP Secures Parliamentary Debate on Water Bosses Flouting Bonus Ban
Tom Gordon, Liberal Democrat MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, has secured a parliamentary debate to hold water company bosses to account after executives continued to pocket millions in bonuses despite a ban under the Water Special Measures Act.
The Act, passed in 2025, was designed to strengthen regulation of the water industry, tackling sewage pollution and chronic underinvestment. It gave Ofwat new powers, including the ability to block bonuses for senior executives at companies that fail to meet environmental and consumer standards.
However, as Tom will highlight during the debate, water bosses have continued to find ways around the rules. Yorkshire Water, along with five other companies, was banned from paying “unfair” senior executive bonuses.
This comes after last year it was uncovered that Yorkshire Water CEO, Nicola Shaw, has received payments through the company’s offshore parent, Kelda Holdings, and refused repeated calls to return the money – while rivers, seas, and communities continue to suffer from pollution and underinvestment.
Tom has consistently called for the bonus to be returned and will make it a central focus of Tuesday’s debate. He will also argue that the scandal exposes a serious failure of regulation and makes the case for replacing Ofwat with a genuinely independent, tough regulator capable of holding companies fully accountable, closing loopholes, and protecting the public interest.
Commenting, Tom said:
“This debate is an opportunity to once again expose the shameful behaviour of water bosses, who continue to pocket millions in bonuses while our rivers and seas pay the price.
“This is exactly the kind of behaviour the Water Special Measures Act was meant to stop, yet executives are still getting away with it, with little sign of improvement.
“It is long past time we had a genuinely independent, tough regulator to replace Ofwat – one that can hold companies to account, close loopholes for good, and protect both the public and the environment from exploitation. I will be making that case in Parliament on Tuesday.”
