The call comes amid public anger over rising bills and continued pollution failures.
Dame Caroline Dinenage, MP for Gosport, led the letter to Southern Water chief executive Lawrence Gosden, describing the incentive as “morally indefensible” at a time when customers face a 46.7 per cent rise in bills and ongoing environmental breaches.
The Southern Water CEO will receive a £345,000 incentive payment – half of its total – this summer, on top of his regular salary of £500,600, allowance of £111,400 and pension-related benefit of £75,100.
Ms Dinenage said: “This 100 per cent pay increase for the chief executive of Southern Water is a bonus in all but name.
“It is a kick in the teeth for my constituents who are seeing their bills go up but their service getting worse.
“Bonuses should be rewarded in recognition of achievement and merit, but my constituents have not seen any progress on Southern Water’s efforts to reduce sewage spills.
“The right thing for the water company boss to do is reject this payment until he has achieved tangible results.”
The letter was signed by 10 Conservative MPs representing constituencies served by Southern Water, including Suella Braverman (Fareham and Waterlooville), Paul Holmes (Hamble Valley), and Sir Desmond Swayne (New Forest West).
Darren Paffey and Satvir Kaur signed a separate letter calling Mr Gosden to decline a “disgraceful payment for failure”.
The MPs argued that the payment undermines public trust and is out of step with the company’s performance.
They said: “This award is tone-deaf and undermines any remaining thread of public confidence which remained in your company.
“As household costs rise—including a prospective 46.7 per cent rise in our Southern Water bills—it is indefensible for you to receive a 100 per cent pay increase the same year customers are paying more for poorer services.”
The letter went on to describe Southern Water’s record of sewage discharges, infrastructure failures, and water restrictions as falling “short of the expectations” of their constituents.
A Southern Water spokesperson said that its CEO’s salary and benefits are decided by a Remunteration Committee made up of independent non-executive directors, which follows rules set out by Ofwat and the law.
The spokesperson said: “Lawrence Gosden’s 2025 package includes a Long Term Incentive Plan paid by shareholders which marks improvements made during the delivery of our Turnaround Plan, such a more than 30% reduction in overall pollutions and 25% year-on-year fall in customer complaints.”
