• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News Environment

Whiff of desperation? No 10 defends MPs who voted against punishing water firms over sewage

Shadow Defra secretary, Luke Pollard, said: “People are right to be upset at the dreadful state of England’s rivers. Not one English river is in a healthy condition and there has been zero improvement since 2016.

Joe Mellor by Joe Mellor
2021-10-26 15:06
in Environment, News
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

Downing Street says it “completely agrees” that it is unacceptable for water companies to dump raw sewage in the country’s rivers, but has defended the Government’s actions after MPs voted against an amendment to the Environment Bill.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the intentions of an amendment to the Environment Bill, which includes putting a legal duty on water companies to stop raw sewage from being poured into waterways, is “already being delivered”.

The statement comes after campaigners, including Surfers Against Sewage, said they were disappointed that 268 MPs – against 204 – disagreed with proposals to amend the bill, which is to go back before peers for scrutiny later today.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We completely agree that the current failure of water companies to adequately reduce sewage discharges is unacceptable.”

The spokesman added that the amendment put forward by the Duke of Wellington “remains un-costed”, but “the initial assessments are over £150 billion and that would mean that individuals – every one of us as taxpayers – paying potentially thousands of pounds each as a result.”

Blighted

Downing Street said that, as a result, “it’s not right to sign a blank cheque on behalf of customers without understanding the trade-offs and the bills that would be involved”, but “tougher legal duties” are being placed on water companies and “we will continue to listen to MPs who have legitimate concerns”.

Those MPs include Huw Merriman, MP for Bexhill and Battle.

RelatedPosts

Raab rejects bid to include right to abortion in Bill of Rights as Creasy slams move

Steve Bray: Stop Brexit Man vows to protest ‘twice as loud’ after police seize amplifiers

Corbyn’s message to Royal Mail as workers balloted on summer strike action

Watch: Liz Truss skewered over questions on government links to ‘authoritarian’ Saudi Arabia

He told BBC News on Tuesday: “We cannot have sewage being put into our seas. Our seas are unclean and unhealthy to swim in, and people’s lives are blighted because, when they see heavy rainfall, they then worry about sewage coming into their households.

“Ultimately, my constituents have to live with this as a coastal community. I have to put them before what the Government is telling me I should do.”

MPs who voted against the amendment have also come under fire from campaigners and Defra, which said it was unacceptable that raw sewage was put into coastal waters and rivers in England more than 400,000 times in the last year.

The Shadow Defra secretary, Luke Pollard, said: “People are right to be upset at the dreadful state of England’s rivers. Not one English river is in a healthy condition and there has been zero improvement since 2016.

“The Government is to blame for allowing water companies to vent raw sewage into our rivers and sea seemingly at will.”

Related: ‘Poo titles for Boris’ trends – we got our hands dirty looking for best reactions

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Adultery overtaken as most common reason couples divorce

Express left scratching its head as dearth of EU workers leads to soaring job vacancies

Archbishop of Canterbury tells Remainers to “stop whingeing” and accept the result of the referendum

Statues of slave kneeling before Abraham Lincoln must go

“I’m not alone” – How Legion Admiral Nurses help to live positively with dementia

Paedophile used ice cream van to prey on children

How do you get working people to vote against their own economic interests? Start a culture war!

‘Ghastly stuff’ – Rees-Mogg offends SNP, ‘Woke’ people and Teeside

Driver jumps out of car and attacks him in middle of busy dual carriage way

Record high temperature of more than 18C recorded for Antarctica

JOBS

FIND MORE JOBS

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.