{"links":{"self":"https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/784041.json"},"data":{"type":"petition","id":784041,"attributes":{"action":"Cap the operating profit margins of privatised monopoly utility companies","background":"Introduce legislation that caps the maximum operating profit margins allowed for privatised, regional utility networks operating as legalised monopolies. This cap should be legally pegged to competitive open-market benchmarks to protect consumers from paying for inflated corporate returns.","additional_details":"Legalised monopolies face zero competition and can extract huge profits. For 2025/26, Anglian Water reported a 30.3% operating profit margin, while Thames Water achieved an underlying profit margin of 35.5%.\r\n \r\nIn contrast, successful brands in competitive markets make far less. Tesco operates on a tight margin of less than 5%, while open-market infrastructure firms average under 3%. We believe the Government and Parliament must cap these monopoly margins to protect customers from inflated bills.","committee_note":"","state":"open","signature_count":23,"closing_date":"2027-04-29","created_at":"2026-10-08T09:34:20.999Z","updated_at":"2026-10-30T00:44:10.000Z","rejected_at":null,"opened_at":"2026-10-29T15:29:48.793Z","closed_at":null,"moderation_threshold_reached_at":"2026-10-09T19:56:20.000Z","response_threshold_reached_at":null,"government_response_at":null,"debate_threshold_reached_at":null,"debate_scheduled_on":null,"scheduled_debate_date":null,"debate_outcome_at":null,"creator_name":"Monty Montgomery","rejection":null,"government_response":null,"debate":null,"departments":[{"acronym":"DEFRA","name":"Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs","url":"https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs"}],"topics":[],"signatures_by_country":[{"name":"United Kingdom","code":"GB","signature_count":23}],"signatures_by_constituency":[{"name":"Bognor Regis and Littlehampton","ons_code":"E14001108","mp":"Alison Griffiths MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"Camborne and Redruth","ons_code":"E14001148","mp":"Perran Moon MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"Canterbury","ons_code":"E14001151","mp":"Rosie Duffield MP","signature_count":2},{"name":"East Wiltshire","ons_code":"E14001217","mp":"Danny Kruger MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"Finchley and Golders Green","ons_code":"E14001238","mp":"Sarah Sackman MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"Gillingham and Rainham","ons_code":"E14001246","mp":"Naushabah Khan MP","signature_count":3},{"name":"Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes","ons_code":"E14001255","mp":"Melanie Onn MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"Hyndburn","ons_code":"E14001299","mp":"Sarah Smith MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"Kingswinford and South Staffordshire","ons_code":"E14001316","mp":"Mike Wood MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"Luton South and South Bedfordshire","ons_code":"E14001346","mp":"Rachel Hopkins MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"Newton Abbot","ons_code":"E14001381","mp":"Martin Wrigley MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"Normanton and Hemsworth","ons_code":"E14001383","mp":"Jon Trickett MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"Plymouth Moor View","ons_code":"E14001426","mp":"Fred Thomas MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"Stroud","ons_code":"E14001529","mp":"Dr Simon Opher MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"Sussex Weald","ons_code":"E14001533","mp":"Ms Nusrat Ghani MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"Tewkesbury","ons_code":"E14001542","mp":"Cameron Thomas MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"Torbay","ons_code":"E14001551","mp":"Steve Darling MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"Warwick and Leamington","ons_code":"E14001566","mp":"Matt Western MP","signature_count":1},{"name":"Waveney Valley","ons_code":"E14001569","mp":"Adrian Ramsay MP","signature_count":2}],"signatures_by_region":[{"name":"North West","ons_code":"B","signature_count":1},{"name":"Yorkshire and The Humber","ons_code":"D","signature_count":2},{"name":"West Midlands","ons_code":"F","signature_count":2},{"name":"East of England","ons_code":"G","signature_count":3},{"name":"London","ons_code":"H","signature_count":1},{"name":"South East","ons_code":"J","signature_count":7},{"name":"South West","ons_code":"K","signature_count":7}],"other_parliamentary_business":[]}}}