Southern Water responds to Tory MPs' call for boss to reject £691,000 incentive payment

Lawrence Gosden will potentially be awarded £691,000 next year under a Long-Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) with Conservative MPs co-signing a letter calling it “tone-deaf” and “morally indefensible”.

While Southern Water are working on a fuller response to the letters, they have released a statement advising that the payment will only paid next year as per the conditions of the incentive plan. Gosden is set to receive £345,600 this year on top of his regular salary of £687,000.

The controversy comes with MPs pointing to the controversies of sewage discharges and “environmental failures” that have taken place in recent years.

A spokesperson for Southern Water said: “This year Lawrence received a salary increase of 3.5% based on inflation, as well as benefits, and the first instalment of a payment awarded under a Long-Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) initiated in 2023 of £345,600.

“As explained in the Remuneration Report section of the Southern Water Annual Report, available on our website, the LTIP is paid over two years.

“The second payment will only be made in accordance with the LTIP’s rules next summer and will be reported in the 2025/26 Annual Report. That brings his total package to around £975k. The LTIP is funded by shareholders and not by customers.”

The letter signed by a number of local MPs including, Caroline Dinenage, Suella Braverman and Alan Mak said: "As representatives of our constituents, it is our duty to convey to you the strength of public feeling against this morally indefensible award.

"At a time when Southern Water is undergoing intense scrutiny for a plethora of environmental failures across our constituencies, this award is tone-deaf and undermines any remaining thread of public confidence which remained in your company."

"The service provided by Southern Water and its extensive record of sewage discharges, infrastructure failures, and water restrictions continues to fall short of the expectations of our constituents.

"The Conservative Party stands for responsible business, fair merit, and accountability. This payout undermines all three, and we expect better from companies entrusted with critical elements of our national infrastructure.

"With this in mind, we urge you to demonstrate leadership by voluntarily foregoing or repaying this incentive. This gesture of good faith would go far in rebuilding credibility with customers and demonstrating your commitment to your turnaround plan."