Skip to content

Strip Wales' water watchdog of power, say Lib Dems

BBC Sir Ed Davey being interviewed in Lib Dem HQ, wearing a blue suit and tie with people working in the background behind glass with "Liberal Democrats" and the party logo emblazoned on it BBC
Water quality is something Ed Davey focused on in the general election campaign

"Failed" efforts to tackle sewage pollution mean Wales' water watchdog should be stripped of its role regulating the industry, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has said.

The water industry in Wales is covered by Welsh government agency Natural Resources Wales (NRW), the environmental regulator and Ofwat, the economic regulator.

Sir Ed said a "different system" should be drawn up to create a "more powerful" regulator.

The Welsh government said NRW was "passionate" about its work and was "reviewing" its activities so delivery of core functions take priority.

Speaking on the eve of his party's autumn conference in Brighton, Sir Ed said the Liberal Democrats also wanted to see Ofwat scrapped in England and replaced with a "clean water authority".

He said this "tougher regulator", with powers from the Environment Agency, could "really hold the water companies to account".

Acknowledging the differences in Wales, he said the Welsh government "hasn’t done a good enough job, the regulator needs to be tougher".

A lack of resources to carry out enforcement action was a "big issue", said Sir Ed.

The Welsh government said, while issues around the environment were its responsibility, it was working with Westminster to "consider how regulation of the water sector can be strengthened".

It added: "NRW is critically reviewing its entire range of activities recognising that delivery of its core functions and statutory duties take priority."

Sir Ed praised the structure of Welsh Water, which supplies most of Wales and parts of England and is a not-for-profit organisation.

He said it had the potential "to be a much better model than the privatised water industry we’ve seen in England".

Unease over Senedd changes

Meanwhile, Sir Ed also said he had some concerns about the proposed new constituency boundaries and voting system for the 2026 Senedd election.

The Welsh Parliament will have 96 politicians - up from 60 - with fewer and larger constituencies and all Members of the Senedd (MSs) elected under a proportional system.

"We need to make sure the boundaries truly represent communities and some communities have talked about feeling that they don’t," said Sir Ed.

He called the new voting system an "improvement", but said changing so people vote for parties rather than candidates meant "some of the candidates aren’t as accountable to the local area".

His party would have preferred a different system, he said, but insisted the Lib Dems had a "great chance" to do well at the next Senedd election.

The party has one Welsh MP at Westminster, one MS in Cardiff Bay and leads Powys council in coalition with Labour.