The emerging quagmire and resistance to the illegal US-Israeli war on Iran seem to have pushed the Donald Trump regime’s war propaganda into hyperdrive. But US citizens have seen this toxic story before. So cheap words and movie montages are unlikely to convince more people to back wasting billions on another forever war.

‘Embarrassing’ US war propaganda

The unprovoked US-Israeli offensive is already less popular than Vietnam. And just days in, there is open, widespread criticism of it in the US. This is hardly surprising, considering it has so far killed over 1,200 people in Iran and sparked regional chaos.

In this context, Trump’s White House has shared a vomit-worthy propaganda video. But far from helping, it has made his regime look even more like coked-up, roid-raging incels playing shoot-em-up games in their parents’ basements. And people were quick to point out its awfulness, with one calling it:

possibly the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever seen from any Government ever

lol interesting movie choices

Braveheart: The entire movie is about resisting imperial occupation by a more powerful nation. Using it to celebrate American military power is exactly backwards — we are the empire.

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Saul Goodman: A corrupt, morally bankrupt lawyer who helps a…

— Adam Del (@adam__xyz) March 6, 2026

Wild that this is the reality: pic.twitter.com/z36Cylfi5n

— The Political Bitcoiner (@PoliticalBTC) March 6, 2026

The White House has also been putting out laughably fawning authoritarian phrases about “Unstoppable Momentum”, such as:

Under the decisive leadership of President Donald J. Trump, America’s unparalleled warfighters are delivering devastating strikes in Operation Epic Fury

And it seems to have taken tips from the propagandists of George Orwell’s 1984:

The only way. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/GQWt4LwsNH

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 5, 2026

The corporate media, meanwhile, has been playing along. It has:

Two nuclear powers — the US and Israel — are rampaging through Western Asia in violation of international law, disrupting energy supplies and destroying lives. And on top of that, Donald Trump’s regime is treating people in the US and around the world like idiots.

If the reaction online and offline is anything to go by, however, Trump’s war propaganda may be doing more harm to his reputation than good.

Featured image via the Canary

Morrisons has announced that all accessible toilets in its supermarkets, across England, Scotland and Wales are now stoma-friendly. The initiative aims to support independence, dignity and comfort for people living with a stoma.

The new facilities arrive following customer feedback. They represent a practical step towards strengthening access to appropriate facilities beyond the home.

Stoma-friendly facilities

Morrisons stoma-friendly toilets include features advised by Colostomy UK. These include:

• Hooks for clothing or bags.
• Shelf for supplies.
• Bin for discreet disposal.
• Mirror to help with appliance checks.

Morrisons worked with MSP and advocate for the stoma community Edward Mountain to introduce the new facilities. Mountain wrote to the retailer to share his story and request the toilets be stoma-friendly. He was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2022 and had a stoma whilst his bowel recovered.

Currently around one in 335 people in the UK are living with a stoma. Individuals of all ages may have one, which can be temporary or for the rest of their life. Stoma surgery can take place to treat a range of illnesses including cancer, diverticulitis and Crohn’s disease or following a trauma to the abdomen.

Colostomy UK welcomed the commitment to stoma-friendly toilets in all stores. The charity raises awareness and champions for simple changes to ensure people with a stoma can live full, active lives without unnecessary barriers.

David Scott, corporate affairs director at Morrisons, said:

We’re really pleased to introduce these improvements in all our stores after listening to customers and with guidance from Colostomy UK.

We worked closely with Edward Mountain, who wrote to us about his personal condition and we found his letter incredibly moving. From this, we recognised that living with a stoma is often a hidden experience that still brings practical challenges in daily life.

By making facilities easier to use across all Morrisons stores, we hope this brings reassurance when out and about and represents a step towards reducing everyday barriers and improving access to suitable facilities across the country.

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Conservative MSP Mountain commented:

As a bowel cancer survivor, and as someone who’s lived with the consequences of bowel surgery and a stoma, I cannot emphasise how important this is. These new facilities will make bathrooms easier to use, more accessible, and spell the end of the difficulties, embarrassment and discomfort many of us faced to this point.

I am immensely grateful to Morrisons, who engaged with me positively from the outset and have come good on their pledge. I hope other supermarkets and major public-facing businesses take heed of this excellent example.

Giovanni Cinque, marketing and campaigns manager at Colostomy UK said:

Our research shows that access to suitable toilets remains one of the biggest barriers to people living confidently with a stoma. Many tell us they carefully plan journeys, cut trips short, or only go out when absolutely necessary because they are unsure what facilities will be available.

Stoma friendly features such as a shelf, a bin for discreet disposal, hooks and a mirror may seem simple, but they make a real difference to comfort, dignity and peace of mind.

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We welcome Morrisons’ commitment to introducing these changes in stores nationwide and thank them for listening to the stoma community and taking practical action to improve access.

The locations of all Morrisons stores and the availability of facilities will appear on Colostomy UK’s online listings of stoma-friendly toilet venues. This is a resource to make planning trips, outings, and daily activities easier by highlighting venues that offer practical, considerate facilities.

Featured image via Colostomy UK

Just weeks after the illegal kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, UK-based Shell has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Venezuelan government to begin liquified natural gas (LNG) production in the Dragon gas field.

The agreement, announced during US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s visit to Caracas, places the British company in front of the race to exploit Venezuela’s resources.

Burgum told Fox News that companies like Shell are already “signing deals and moving this opportunity forward,” noting that they joined American firms including Baker Hughes, Halliburton, and KBR in responding to President Trump’s call to energy leaders in early January.

Burgum says US-Venezuela ties moving at ‘Trump speed,’ will help keep energy costs down for Americans https://t.co/EcZ3rtaZ7Y

— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) March 6, 2026

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Fox reported that

Burgum was meeting with oil and gas executives, including Chevron and Shell, along with Venezuelan business leaders during his trip to highlight critical mineral partnerships.

Historical meddling

This is absolutely no surprise to anyone who has followed Shell’s history including its role in the genocide in Gaza.

According to Declassified UK, BP and Shell had been authorized to operate in Venezuela under new licences from the US Treasury in mid-February. Declassified said that “this comes after decades of UK interference in Venezuela’s oil and gas industry.”

🚨Following the illegal kidnapping of Nicolás Maduro, BP and Shell have been cleared to operate in Venezuela under newly issued licences from the US treasury department.

This comes after decades of UK interference in Venezuela’s oil and gas industry.
👉https://t.co/ItX1m4YdSm pic.twitter.com/ZGCWU48Joh

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— Declassified UK (@declassifiedUK) February 18, 2026

For instance, in 2001, Shell and BP lobbied Tony Blair to pressure Hugo Chávez into softening his Hydrocarbons Law, with the US noting BP stood to lose from the reforms, according to Declassified’s expose.  It also detailed Shell’s covert funding of CIA-linked propaganda in the 1960s in Venezuela.

Imperial hubris

In the immediate aftermath of Maduro’s kidnapping Telegraph gave space to an editorial talking about this exact plunder that we are seeing now.

The editorial read:

BP and Shell cannot afford to miss out on Venezuelan gold rush
The potential gains for Western oil companies will ultimately trump any ethical considerations

Marlow further reflects seemingly fondly on BP’s history in Iran saying:

Still, the global oil industry has been built on the exploits of buccaneers daring to venture into far-flung, dangerous corners of the world and do business under the most hazardous of circumstances.
BP’s roots can be traced back to the discovery of oil in the Persian desert at the turn of the 20th century by the British entrepreneur called William Knox D’Arcy.
When D’Arcy’s drills eventually struck oil, British imperial soldiers were summoned to surround the area and protect it from any local opportunists.

To describe the local population—the rightful inheritors and caretakers of their land’s resources – as ‘local opportunists’ shows that imperial hubris knows no bounds.

Meanwhile, BBC interviewed BP’s former chief executive, Lord Browne, who speculated that BP and Shell were already lobbying the government to secure a role in redeveloping Venezuela’s oil and gas assets.

The Israel link

According to Joseph Bouchard writing for Responsible Statecraft (RS), the overthrow of Maduro was strategically useful for US and British oil giants like BP and Shell and Israel.

The Chavismo ideology supports Palestinian liberation, aligning itself with other self-avowedly pro-Palestine US adversary states like Cuba.

In Israel’s calculus, the overthrow of Maduro was a blow to Iran, a safeguard for U.S. oil interests, and one more step in building out a pro-American, pro-Israel bloc in Latin America.

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For Israeli hardliners, removing one of the last major anti-Zionist governments in the Americas weakened Iran’s regional influence, according to RS

With Israel cheering from the sidelines and US officials boasting of “Trump speed,” the plunder of Venezuela’s – ofcourse, UK couldn’t be out of the looting.

Featured image via the Canary

On 5 March, Trump ignominiously sacked Kristi Noem from her state-level role as Homeland Security secretary. Oklahoma senator Markwayne Mullin will take up her place at the end of the month, pending confirmation from the US Senate.

Readers will, by now, no doubt be familiar with Noem as the public face of America’s far-right anti-immigration policies. In particular, Noem called both Renee Good and Alex Pretti ‘domestic terrorists’ after their murder by ICE agents last year.

Although, let’s be clear here. Trump didn’t fire Noem because she’s a lying fascist at the head of a pack of murderers. That would be hypocritical. Rather, Trump knows that public opinion has turned against his immigration policies, and he needed a sacrificial lamb.

Fascism and fuckups

In place of her previous role, Trump is now shunting Noem off to a job as a ‘special envoy’ for the US. She’ll be joining a Western hemisphere security initiative called ‘the Shield of the Americas’.

Among the former Homeland Security chief’s laundry list of highly public fuckups, Noem accidentally let slip the identity of ICE murderer Jonathan David Ross. She also claimed that Ross had internal bleeding, which was later exposed as a lie.

Other examples of Noem’s outright fabrications include the utterly false claim that an immigrant deportee was a cannibal. She also published a photo of a Black protester that was manipulated to look like she was crying.

Noem’s tenure at Homeland Security saw her join ICE raids wearing a bulletproof vest, promote policies to close the Mexican border, and spend $220m of federal funds on adverts. Most of those adverts, she appeared in personally.

All horrifying, and all par for the course for the Trump regime. As such, she’s acted as something of a Nazi-slogan-spouting figurehead for the Republicans’ vicious ‘security’ policies.

Sacrificial wolf

On 3 March, Noem attempted to defend her spending at a Capitol Hill hearing. There, she stated that Trump was aware of the cost of the ad campaign. Two days later, Trump claimed that he “never knew anything about it”, shortly before firing her.

However, this was far from the first indicator that Noem had fallen from the US dictator’s favour. During the sweeping protests against ICE in Minneapolis, Trump sent in ‘border tsar’ and former ICE director Tom Homan, rather than Noem herself.

The fact that Trump has sacked Noem is no indicator of his authoritarianism softening. Rather, the US dictator has seen that his public approval is plummeting, particularly on the subject of immigration.

Turns out that using a masked secret police to murder and kidnap people to concentration camps makes you unpopular, even in America.

As such, Noem has made a convenient sacrifice to make Trump look like he’s relenting. Meanwhile, nothing will change under Markwayne Mullin, save maybe that ICE will get a little more cautious, a little more covert in their actions.

The problem was never that they’re fascists — the problem was they got caught too many times.

Featured image via the Canary

UK Deputy PM David Lammy was asked on Sky News for his assessment of the recent mass fatalities after a suspected US precision bomb hit a girls’ primary school in Iran. Asked if the targeted attack constitutes a breach of international law, Lammy attempted to deflect saying:

This is a febrile war zone.

Sky’s Kamali Melbourne pointed out that active war zones don’t justify hitting schools, which are protected sites under international law. Seemingly unaffected by the mass murder of young Iranian girls, Lammy suggests he’s waiting for the say-so of his overlord US President Trump:

Well, I don’t know the veracity of that statement, and I haven’t seen the intelligence, but it is absolutely for the Americans to comment on what has happened there.

Once again, UK officials choose to look away, refusing to condemn war crimes committed against brown, Muslim, and Arab people.

“You recognise.. if a school was targeted that would constitute a breach of intl law?”

“This is a febrile war zone”

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“That doesn’t excuse hitting schools..”

“… its for the Americans to comment on what’s happened there”

So you’ve never commented on Russian war crimes, right? https://t.co/ZjLLDxNixu pic.twitter.com/vjsdCaWAxm

— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) March 6, 2026

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Lammy needs to learn: no intelligence justifies murdering children

This deplorable interview with David Lammy cannot be ignored. Lammy appears unable or unwilling to show compassion and demand the US protect civilians in Iran in accordance with international law. Even worse, the Deputy PM appears to suggest that intelligence might actually justify the US attack. A targeted attack which reportedly murdered 165 Iranian schoolgirls. Therefore, Lammy seems to believe that the precision bomb reportedly dropped by US forces on an all-girls primary school in Minab could be ‘legitimate’ under international law.

Rightfully, there was uproar from Western politicians when Israeli children were killed on October 7th, 2023. However, if Palestine and Iran have taught us anything, it is that governments in the West are more than happy to ignore the mass murder of brown children altogether. A sinister viewpoint that will be a stain on our society in the decades to come.

Hypocrisy

Lammy has been more than happy to call out war crimes against white people, at the hands of those he is publicly against such as Putin in Russia. Yet his silence now just exposes the duplicitous nature of this despicable man’s compassion and understanding:

Horrific reports from Bucha of mass graves and bodies strewn across streets.

I have no doubt war crimes are being committed.

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We need a special tribunal to prosecute Vladimir Putin personally for his war of aggression.

— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) April 3, 2022

Nevertheless, we have long had to endure his duplicity, as the failed statesman repeatedly shows a woeful inability to recognise right from wrong. It also reinforces the sense that Lammy often avoids engaging with something as silly as honesty and transparency. Discussing his backroom dealings with Israeli Zionist official Gideon Sa’ar, Skwawkbox wrote in October:

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has refused to disclose notes concerning a ‘secret meeting’ in April between David Lammy, at the time Keir Starmer’s Foreign Secretary, and his Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa’ar – because they could be “open to misinterpretation” and might harm the UK’s relationship with (genocidal) Israel, Scottish paper The National has revealed. The FCDO blocked publication of any papers relating to the meeting.

Patrick Harvie, a Green party member of the Scottish Parliament described the government’s excuse for hiding details of the meeting as “dangerous“:

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“The idea that the public cannot see these documents because we might misinterpret them seems extraordinary, and if that excuse is allowed to stand, it would set a dangerous precedent.”

Sickening from @DavidLammy he never has any problems condemning Russia and accusing it of war crimes. But when it comes to America and apartheid Israel he plays the Mr Bean card.

Is sad that a man who cut his political teeth on the right side of history opposing apartheid South… https://t.co/1UZa5YKIpK

— Martin L. Zinn (@MartinLZinn) March 6, 2026

History will judge

As with Palestine, the government refuses to acknowledge crimes committed by its allies. As in October, perhaps Lammy believes the British public will ‘misinterpret’ the law and wrongly assume that everyone lives under the same rules-based order and that all lives hold equal value. That would surely scupper relations with Zionist US and Israel. After all, our leaders clearly believe that factors of religion or race should absolutely determine whether governments condemn mass murder.

Instead, the Starmer government refuse to apply independent legal reasoning and choose to continue this pattern of duplicity, placing US and Israeli interests above Britain’s own. This might be rewarding right now, leaving elected officials with heavier pockets and increased comfort. But the history books will not write kindly of those who refused to say ‘stop’ to tyrannical maniacs.

They may apply one sordid rule to the US and its allies and another to those they seek to dominate.

But justice, sooner or later, always prevails.

Featured image via the Canary

New data from the House of Commons Department of environment, food and rural affairs (DEFRA) committee has exposed the debt collection practices of robber-baron water companies.

These water companies are sending bailiffs to tens of thousands of homes across England and Wales. Often, the debts they’re collecting on are for less that £1,000.

DEFRA committee chair Alistair Carmichael MP said:

It is interesting and concerning to see the extent of their use of bailiffs over time and to see such differing approaches. The figures should be seen in the context of various cost of living shocks that have hit households over recent years.

For any family or individual to be subject to legal action is no small matter and can be a cause of severe stress and anxiety. We would urge any company to review its practices and ensure they are as sparing and compassionate as possible. We have referred this information to Citizens Advice and the Consumer Council for Water for further scrutiny.

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Water companies: one rule for them, another for us

As Carmichael alluded to, the collection methods the suppliers employ vary massively according to where you are in the UK. Overall, Yorkshire Water, Southern Water, and South West Water (SWW) made the heaviest use of bailiffs, when the data is adjusted for population. Meanwhile, Wessex Water hasn’t used bailiffs for over a decade.

However, other companies also made massive use of debt collectors on specific years. For example, Severn Trent sent bailiffs out 11,574 times over 2022. Even more egregiously, Southern Water instructed bailiffs a staggering 15,707 times in 2019.

Labour MP John McDonnell highlighted the fact that water companies have broken the law hundreds of times in recent years, with little real backlash. He said that:

Only five directors of water companies have been prosecuted in the last 30 years. Contrast that with the thousands of mainly poor people the water companies set the bailiffs on each year.

The system is more interested in prosecuting families that are struggling to pay their water bills than the company directors responsible for pollutin g our rivers and seas while lining their pockets from profiteering at the expense of both their customers and our environment.

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With that in mind, let’s take a look at what the suppliers have to say for themselves, shall we?

Yorkshire Water

A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said:

Our focus for any customer entering arrears is to assess vulnerability and provide support where necessary, through early engagement, financial support schemes, clear communications and signposting to external assistance with financial issues. Enforcement action is a last resort and is only taken against customers who we determine, using internal data and external credit agencies, have the ability to pay their bill but are choosing not to.

Well that’s nice, isn’t it? Only, Yorkshire Water has done some other fucking around with people’s debts recently, haven’t they?

Labour recently introduced a 15% cap on the amount that the DWP could take from people’s benefits to pay off debt. Yorkshire Water used this as an excuse to complain that it would lose out on that debt collection. Previously, it made £11m a year from the DWP garnishing benefits.

So yeah, Yorkshire Water claims that it only sends bailiffs to the houses of those who can afford it. They just forgot to mention that, until April 2025, they had the DWP doing the bailiffs’ job for them.

Southern Water

A Southern Water spokesperson said:

We work hard to ensure customers who are struggling get the support they need, such as our social tariff schemes. We’re delivering our biggest ever investment plan, spending around £8.5bn to meet the expectations of our customers in protecting the environment and improving services.

£8.5bn is an awfully large number. What a magnificent investment in Southern Water’s infrastructure. Only, maintaining that infrastructure and protecting the environment is literally a water company’s job. 

Southern Water’s spokesperson regrettably failed to mention that it needs to invest that much because it hasn’t been doing its job. In the Environmental Agency’s most recent report, Southern Water was guilty of 15 serious pollution incidents. This made it the second worst environmental offender in the country.

Then, of course, there’s the small matter that we already paid to fix the shoddy infrastructure with our past bills.

South West Water

A South West Water spokesperson said:

We only ever use enforcement action as a last resort. Our priority is always to support customers who are struggling, and we offer a wide range of financial support.

Lovely, that – mind you, there’d probably be a bit more financial support available if SWW weren’t also busy awarding its CEO a massive £300,000 pay rise.

Meanwhile, the water that SWW delivered to Devon was so riddled with parasites that it caused an outbreak of diarrhoea in 2024. Just two days ago, on 4 March, SWW pleaded guilty to the criminal offence of causing those infections. They affected 2,500 homes, causing 150 people to fall ill.

According to the Guardian, SWW will likely face a fine of “hundreds of thousands of pounds”. In the same year as the outbreak, Pennon Group – SWW’s parent company – announced an 8.6% increase in its underlying operating profits, bringing the total to £166.3m.  

Thieves and thugs

There are words for the likes of Yorkshire Water, Southern Water, South West Water and their CEOs. Unfortunately, we’re not allowed to publish most of them.

For now, we’ll settle for calling them a pack of state-sanctioned thieves in command of an army of thugs. These companies profit from a monopoly on fucking water, the most essential resource of life.

They claim they need money for infrastructure maintenance, but for some strange reason, the infrastructure isn’t maintained. When we don’t pay, they set the bailiffs on us. When they don’t pay, they get a slap on the wrist and an insignificant fine – and they still pay out dividends to the shareholders.

Fines are not enough. Ofwat and the Environmental Agency are not enough. The courts are not enough. Only stripping these companies of their control over our water will end the – very literal – shitshow that is privatisation.

Featured image via the Canary

Hackney Green Party has proudly welcomed councillor Soraya Adejare to sit with the Green Group at Hackney council’s annual budget meeting. It marked a powerful moment for progressive politics in the borough.

Adejare has previously served as the Speaker of Hackney. She’s worked for Hackney residents for more than a decade. During that time, she’s built a reputation as a fearless advocate for working-class communities, social and private housing tenants and those too often ignored by the political establishment.

Adejare grew up in Hackney and lives in social housing. She has long used her position to challenge injustice. And she ensures residents’ voices get heard at the highest levels of decision-making.

Adejare said in the council chamber as she crossed the floor:

It is troubling for me, having sat in this chamber for 12 years, and over the past decade making repeated calls for more funding, and recognising the damage that the Conservatives’ fiscal approach did to our borough. That being said, the approach of the current government does not meet our needs, irrespective of the pots of funding it provides for us.

I have a 12 year old daughter who has seen no material benefits throughout her lifetime, and that’s likely to continue as we’re encouraged to make increasing cuts.

Supporting the ongoing approach to the budget is totally unacceptable to me and I think it does a disservice to many people in our community, inclusive of many families like mine.

I’d like to thank colleagues who supported me through an incredibly difficult time, amidst a kind of institutional racism I experienced within the [Labour] Party. Likewise, the few that approached me subsequent to the death of my mother.

I will be walking across the chamber and supporting the Greens.

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Green councillor and Green Group co-leader Zoë Garbett said:

Tonight we are so proud to welcome Soraya to join the Hackney Green Party. Her move to join the Green Group sends a clear message: Hackney residents deserve representatives who will stand up for their communities, not simply follow party lines.

Soraya has the respect of residents for her bold advocacy. She fights for residents who deserve decent and affordable housing, youth services, and against racist policing. We look forward to fighting for the people of Hackney together.

The Hackney Green Group warmly welcomes councillor Adejare and looks forward to working with her to deliver on the issues that matter most to residents: tackling the housing crisis, protecting public services and ensuring the borough’s politics reflects the communities it serves.

Featured image via Hackney Green Party

The founder of, We Own It, a public ownership campaign group, caused a stir on social media after calling for the continued privatisation of Thames Water.

The discussion centred around whether the special administration regime (SAR) measures the Lib Dems are calling for will go far enough in fixing the problem of unaccountable water companies. As the Canary’s Alex/Rose Cocker has reported:

They [water companies] claim they need money for infrastructure maintenance, but for some strange reason, the infrastructure isn’t maintained. When we don’t pay, they set the bailiffs on us. When they don’t pay, they get a slap on the wrist and an insignificant fine – and they still pay out dividends to the shareholders.

Fines are not enough. Ofwat and the Environmental Agency are not enough. The courts are not enough. Only stripping these companies of their control over our water will end the – very literal – shitshow that is privatisation.

While special administration can have some short-term benefits, it cannot be a sustainable long term strategy. And, this is primarily because only public ownership will ensure that everyone has access to clean and affordable water.

The Canary sat down with We Own It to find out what all the fuss is about.

We Own It: for permanent public ownership of water

In a social media post Cat Hobbs, We Own It’s director, commended a speech by Lib Dem leader Tim Farron. Specifically, Farron was advocating for so-called “new ownership models” for the debt-laden failing water utility:

Absolutely brilliant to see Tim Farron, Lib Dem environment spokesperson calling for Thames Water to have a new ownership model👏👏👏 https://t.co/LiO93kantu

— Cat Hobbs (@CatHobbs) February 14, 2026

Many on X rightly pointed out that this is really just a euphemism for alternative forms of privatisation.

However, Hobbs clarified to comments on X that she wasn’t in fact calling for these “new ownership models”.

The Canary also confirmed with We Own It that it still stands for full nationalisation of the England and Wales water sector.

We Own It’s lead campaigner on water, Sophie Conquest, explained how the group views these as a distraction from achieving full nationalisation of public services.

So just what had Hobbs meant?

Hobbs separately explained to the Canary how her comment was about rewarding politicians:

when they do the right thing. And we criticize them when they do the wrong thing.

In particular, she was applauding Farron’s support for bringing Thames Water into special administration.

The government could do this through a legal mechanism known as the Special Administration Regime (SAR).

Special Administration Regime: a route to nationalising Thames Water?

As We Own It explains, SAR:

will involve a financial restructuring and it will then be transferred to a new owner.

Crucially, it argues that the new owner:

should be a publicly owned and accountable regional water company.

Public ownership-focused think tank Common Wealth has described how the government could use SAR to fully nationalise water companies. Crucially for a start, it has the option of putting it into SAR on poor performance grounds. The government can do this if a company is failing in its statutory duties. This route to SAR is unique to water – other sectors can only apply it for financial insolvency. But as Common Wealth has laid out, on untreated sewage spills, every single water company in England meets this performance threshold.

One of the advantages of SAR is that it gives the government the option to deny shareholders and bondholders any ‘compensation’. Common Wealth explained how shareholders and creditors would have to argue their case in court, but that profiting from pollution would be:

a violation of the “polluter pays” principle.

Reinforcing Common Wealth’s zero compensation plan, Conquest told the Canary:

They’ve run the asset into the ground, they’ve already taken out more than they’ve put in, therefore they should be compensated nothing.

Incompatible ideas on SAR

However, there is one glaring issue with SAR: the risk of re-privatisation.

To a business buddy-buddy Labour government, renationalisation is unsurprisingly, a loaded term. In a factsheet around its 2025 Water (Special Measures) Bill, it went to great length to distance SAR from nationalisation.

This is perhaps its major drawback – that the government essentially views it as a mechanism for re-privatising a failing utility.

In short, SAR wouldn’t be implemented in a vacuum. We Own It wants to use SAR as a “stepping stone” to permanent public ownership. The government views it as a last resort option for transferring ownership into new private hands.

So how is We Own It planning to prevent this?

Permanent public ownership: no guarantee

The short answer is: backbench MPs.

Its current strategy for what comes if/when SAR is in place revolves around a pledge to public ownership campaign. Conquest said:

our focus has been very much using our time now to convince MPs that public ownership is in the best interest of their constituents. And that’s included the cost of living crisis – that has become much more of a priority for MPs. And I think water addresses that. We can cut water bills if we have permanent public ownership. So MP pledges become a big part of that.

The thinking seems to be that a groundswell of parliamentary support would change the government’s position.

Of course, this might not be out of the realm of possibility. For instance, the backbench backlash over disability benefit cuts meant that the government did pause on its plans for Personal Independence Payment (PIP). However, it took the immense work of disabled campaigners to get MPs to oppose the cuts.

Nevertheless, We Own It recognises relying on backbenchers to move a corporate-captured Labour government is a tall order. After all, this is the same cronyist Cabinet continuing to cite renationalisation cost estimates that the water industry itself funded. And Hobbs noted former environment Steve Reed’s connections to the water industry. This of course includes his links to Peter Mandelson – whose consultancy company Global Counsel had lobbied for water corporations.

So far, We Own It’s pledge campaign has drawn support from just 19 MPs. Naturally, this largely comprises Greens, Independents, and left-leaning Labour MPs.

Despite this, Conquest suggested that there are:

potentially MPs who might not be speaking about this issue now, who will feel when Thames Water comes into special administration, that it’s really untenable for this utility around which there’s been so much controversy, so much anger, for that to be reprivatised at the expense of taxpayers.

She pointed to economist professor Dieter Helm’s discussions on the future of Thames Water. Notably, he has also suggested that:

once a Special Administrator is brought in, its backbenchers will push for full renationalisation. Most of them, at least privately, like this option.

An uphill battle

Ultimately though, what it boils down to is that We Own It believes SAR makes “the most sense strategically” to campaign for.

This is because there is precedent. Conquest and Hobbs gave Railtrack – now Network Rail – as an example where a previous UK government (Cameron’s Conservative administration no less) implemented public ownership after SAR.

Nevertheless, any campaign strategy for permanent public ownership will face an incredibly uphill battle with this neoliberal Labour shower.

Featured image via the Canary