Dame Caroline Dinenage, Member of Parliament for Gosport, has today penned a letter to Southern Water to call for the company’s boss to reject a £691,000 incentive payment.
Ten Conservative MPs have signed the letter which calls the payment to Chief Executive Lawrence Gosden at a time when billpayers are facing a prospective 46.7% rise in their bills ‘indefensible’.
It comes after beaches across the Gosport Constituency were closed by the Environment Agency two weeks ago due to the risk of water pollution from Southern Water-maintained pipes.
The Environment Agency recently found Southern Water guilty of 15 serious pollution incidents in 2024 – the 2nd highest in the country, falling short only to crisis-stricken Thames Water. Meanwhile its pollution incidents increased by 32 percent.
Speaking about the incentive payments, Caroline said:
“This 100 per cent pay increase for the Chief Executive of Southern Water is a bonus in all but name. It is a kick in the teeth for my constituents who are seeing their bills go up but their service getting worse.
“Bonuses should be rewarded in recognition of achievement and merit, but my constituents have not seen any progress on Southern Water’s efforts to reduce sewage spills. The right thing for the water company boss to do is reject this payment until he has achieved tangible results.
“Clearly Labour measures to ban water executive bonuses are not fit for purpose.”
