POLITICS COLUMN: ‘Labour would tackle the Tory sewage scandal’

Paul JonesJanuary 21, 20240 Comment0

DO you think it’s right to allow raw sewage to be dumped into our rivers and beaches 800 times a day? Rishi Sunak and Simon Hoare do!

Under the Tories, raw sewage is being pumped 824 times a day into British waters. This is an environmental disgrace.

Every English river is in an unhealthy condition. In one year alone – 2020 – Wessex Water discharged untreated sewage to enter our rivers on 28,164 occasions.

Labour will end the Tory sewage scandal by introducing automatic fines for sewage dumping, mandatory monitoring of all sewage outlets and legally binding targets to clean up the water industry.

Many would believe that more should be done, including the renationalisation of this service which is vital for everyone’s everyday living.

When the water companies were sold off by the Tories in 1989, the nine principal water companies were debt free, but since then they have been allowed to build up more than £54 billion of borrowing which has been used, predominately, to fund dividends to their shareholders – many of whom are overseas. About 20% of our water bills goes on servicing that debt.

Beyond that, the managers and directors of the companies should be personally liable for the pollution by fining them and charging them with criminal misconduct.

Recently a consortium of end sewage pollution pressure groups and sporting organisations have drawn up their own manifesto for the forthcoming general election – this includes the following elements:

• Enforce the law – the laws necessary are already there but the Government is not enforcing them.
• Stop pollution for profit – water companies’ first duty should be to the environment and not their shareholders.
• Take targeted action – to end untreated discharges affecting bathing waters by 2030 – Labour has already adopted this.
• Empower a nature-led approach – nature has huge potential to relieve the pressure on sewage systems but must be enabled to do so – often such measures can also reduce flood risk.
• Reveal the truth – be transparent about sewage pollution, so there is accurate, up-to-date information about the extent of the problem and its resolution without the need to drag such data out of the vested interest water companies and the complicit regulator and government.