Project Timber News Today

A squeeze on people's incomes due to frozen tax thresholds will continue until 2028, with the Tories and Labour confirming they wouldn't end the "stealth tax". Read this and the rest of today's consumer and personal finance news below, and leave your thoughts in the comments box.

Regulator understood to be looking at ‘recovery regime’ for Thames Water and others in sector

Nationalisation of the utility looks unlikely and there are signs regulator Ofwat is ready to compromise. But that may not be enough to avoid the most likely option, which neither Rishi Sunak nor Keir Starmer will relish dealing with after the election, Ian King explains.

Exclusive: Concerns over effect on UK’s finances lead officials to believe utility should be renationalised before general election

The UK’s biggest water supplier has 16 million households across London and the South East.

The UK’s biggest water supplier has 16 million households across London and the South East.

Bosses have put the proposed hike, which would be introduced over a five-year period, to regulators in a bid to stave off the companys collapse.

If approved, the proposal would take average annual bills for its 16 million customers to nearly £700

Thames Water has submitted a revised business plan to the regulator, proposing a sharp 56% increase in customer bills over the next five years.

Thames Water could be taken over by the Government, with its £15 billion debt added to the public purse, reports have suggested.