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Mayor of Greater Manchester (and Makerfield by-election candidate) Andy Burnham recently called for the nationalisation of Thames Water. The troubled utility provider’s future is currently uncertain, with speculation that it could either have £1bn of debt written off by its creditors or face temporary nationalisation.
Burnham’s proposal may be well-received: recent YouGov data shows that some eight in ten Britons (82%) support nationalising water companies. Will this change improve public perceptions of Thames Water? Data from YouGov BrandIndex shows that the Impression score for the utility company, which measures general sentiment, is at -26.1: substantially lower than the score for the average UK water company (-4.6).
Looking at other metrics reveals similar gaps. The Quality score, for example, is at -22.1 for Thames Water and -4.1 for the average water company; the Value score is at -22.5 compared to an average of -6.9. The Customer Satisfaction score is closer, but still less than flattering: Thames Water’s score is at -5.4, while the average is a marginally positive 0.5.
The Reputation score, a measure of whether consumers would be proud or embarrassed to work for a company, is -20.3; the typical water company’s score is -2.6: still negative, but considerably less so. Perhaps neatly summarising the brand’s image problem, Thames Water’s overall brand health, as measured by the Index score (which averages several of the metrics tracked in YouGov BrandIndex) is at -18.8: the typical water provider’s score sits at -3.5.
In the wake of adverse headlines around sewage spills, rising bills, and the company’s financial woes, Thames Water’s public image lags behind the competition in an already unpopular industry. Whether the company will be nationalised or not remains to be seen, but if nationalisation provides an opportunity to improve the company’s flagging brand perceptions, it may be welcome.
This article originally appeared in City AM