Shipley MP demands Yorkshire Water CEO donate ‘disgraceful’ bonus

Anna Dixon MP has called on her constituents to “Show Yorkshire Water what they think of their performance”, by signing her petition demanding its CEO donate her seven-figure pay bonus to a local charity. 

The petition, launched by the Shipley MP, demands that Nicola Shaw give the extra £1.3 million she has received from Yorkshire Water's parent company, Kelda Holdings, since 2023 to the Yorkshire Rivers Trust.  

Ms Dixon has said that it will be presented to Ms Shaw on the 30th of October.  

The petition, titled ‘Give up your bonus to clean up your mess’, strongly criticises the water companies' environmental record, reading “Over the two years Nicola Shaw was awarded this money, Yorkshire Water pumped sewage into our rivers for 930,000 hours”  

And asks residents if they are “Sick of seeing millions of pounds of billpayers' money given to shareholders instead of invested in our water infrastructure.” 

Anna Dixon MP said of the campaign: “It is disgraceful that Nicola Shaw received this bonus at a time when Yorkshire Water is failing consumers on every level.  

“In just the last 12 months, we’ve seen bills increase for customers, continued dumping of raw sewage into our rivers and lakes, and a hosepipe ban caused in part by the company's lack of investment in water infrastructure such as reservoirs.  

“It is time for residents of the Shipley constituency and beyond to show Yorkshire Water what they think of their performance and demand that Nicola Shaw donate her £1.3 million to a good cause and help repair some of the damage that has been done under her watch.” 

Ms Dixon has been a strong critic of Yorkshire Water since entering Parliament in July 2024, calling for “radical action” to solve the problems facing the water industry. 

She added: “Just this year, Yorkshire Water has been ordered to pay £40m to address its 'serious failures' over wastewater and sewage, more than £900,000 after polluting a watercourse with millions of litres of chlorinated water, and £350,000 after a watercourse in North Yorkshire was polluted with sewage. 

“This is simply not good enough, and I hope as many local residents as possible will join me in showing their anger.” 

If you would like to support Anna Dixon MP’s campaign, you can sign the petition here: https://survey.labour.org.uk/yorkshire-water-bonus-shipley?