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Twenty two years after the South West Water Authority was privatised by a Conservative government, effectively penalising people in Cornwall for living close to the coast, a Tory-led government introduces measures to spread the cost more equitably around the country. For the many, not the few, and all that. We don't yet know the detail of how George Osborne proposes to use public money to offset Cornwall's high water bills. This is what South West Water had to say:

"On behalf of our customers, we welcome the Prime Minister and Chancellor's commitment to address the unfairness of water charges in the South West caused by three per cent of the population funding the clean up of 30% of the nation's bathing waters since 1989.

"We await more details on how much support will be allocated and when it will be available. We will continue to work closely with the government to examine the practicality of options to help customers."