Celebrities

Chaos at Downing Street Interrupts GMB as Viewers Hit with Update That Affects Us All

Published on July 22, 2025

Good Morning Britain viewers were caught off guard on Monday morning when the show was suddenly interrupted for a breaking news update that left many asking how much more they’ll be paying.

Just minutes into the live broadcast on 21 July, hosts Kate Garraway and Ed Balls were in the middle of the day’s headlines when Kate, 58, handed over to correspondent Louisa James, who was standing outside Number 10 with some urgent news. The government had just dropped a major announcement about the water industry, and it wasn’t good news for everyone’s wallets.

Louisa kicked off her live report with a question on everyone’s minds. “I guess the key question is how much is it going to cost and who is going to pay for it? Will the answer ultimately be: all of us through our bills? Because this report outlines some pretty big changes”, reported the Mirror.

The breaking news followed a fresh report from the Independent Water Commission, which landed just as the government unveiled its big plans to overhaul the sector. They’re promising a new watchdog with more power to crack down on complaints, alongside an ambitious goal to halve pollution spills.

But the numbers are eye-watering. Louisa explained that water companies are already planning to spend over £100 billion to improve infrastructure. And bills? They’ve already gone up by 26% since April and are expected to keep rising.

Trying to find a glimmer of hope, Louisa told viewers there was at least some focus in the report on how the money would be used. “One good thing that the review looks at is how that money is going to be spent,” she said. “It talks about companies being less reliant on debt, more financially resilient, making sure they’re investing in maintaining their assets.”

Still, she didn’t sugarcoat the rest. While the report tries to promote financial transparency, it completely avoids some major talking points. Louisa flagged that there was nothing in the review about how massive executive salaries are decided — which is a bit awkward considering the chief executive of Southern Water recently landed a big pay rise.

That’s not all that was missing. She added: “What it also doesn’t do is address the question of renationalisation of water companies. That is something Reform UK wants but the government says it’s too expensive. It will take money away from things like the NHS and schools.”

Louisa wrapped up the segment by pointing out criticism from the Conservative side, saying there are questions around whether simply replacing one quango with another is really going to sort out the mess in Britain’s rivers and lakes.

It was a lot to take in before 9am — and viewers were quick to react online, with many expressing frustration at the idea of footing the bill yet again for problems they didn’t cause.

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