This is a smaller set of local elections than normal

Our loos flush and water comes out of our taps. In that sense, the water industry in England and Wales works. In just about every other way, it’s a mess.The most visible sign of that mess comes after those loos have flushed. Last year England’s privatised water firms released raw sewage for a total of

, more than double the amount recorded the year before.Millions of customers, surfers and bathers have joined a chorus that former pop star Feargal Sharkey has been singing for years - that the sector is a “It’s not just our rivers, lakes and coastlines. Some communities have been told to boil tap water to make it safe, others have seen their water supplies cut off for days or even weeks.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed told the BBC some parts of the country could face a drinking water shortage by the 2030s and plans to build new homes have been jeopardised by water supply problems.Faith in these companies has never been lower and it’s not hard to see why.

The independent commission will be led by former Bank of England Deputy Governor Sir Jon Cunliffe and will report back with recommendations next June. Options on the table include the reform or abolition of the main regulator Ofwat.

To critics like Sharkey, the former lead singer of the Undertones who nowadays is vocal about the state of UK's rivers, it’s an admission that the privatisation of essential monopolies has been a failure. Recently, heBoth men deny any involvement at all with the felling and claim they were each at their respective homes all night.

and took his car to get to the scene, whileand his co-accused was lying.

In his closing speech, prosecutor Richard Wright KC said the "two-man team" and "odd couple" had seen it as "just a tree" and "they must have thought that this was a bit of a laugh".But, he said, they had not appreciated the public's outrage at the destruction of "something so beautiful for no good reason".