Portsmouth South MP has backed legislation brought forward by Labour which will end the Tory sewage scandal by 2030, in the absence of any credible plan from the Government.
Labour Party analysis shows that since 2016 there has been 1,276 years’ worth of raw sewage has been dumped into British waters.
On average, this equates to a new Tory sanctioned sewage dumping event taking place every two and a half minutes in places where people live, work and holiday.
Analysis of Environment Agency data shows that in 2022, raw sewage was discharged into Portsmouth’s waters for 1,809 hours, the equivalent of there being a continuous flow of sewage taking place for over two months of the year.
During the passage of the Environment Bill, Conservative MPs voted to allow water firms to continue sewage dumping, having blocked a Labour-backed amendment that would have progressively eliminated sewage dumping.
That’s why, in the absence of any credible plan from the Tory government, Labour has brought forward its own legislation and real measures to end the Tory sewage scandal.
Labour’s Water Quality Bill will deliver mandatory monitoring on all sewage outlets, introduce automatic fines for discharges, set ambitious targets for stopping systematic sewage dumping and ensure that water bosses are held to account for negligence.
Voting in favour of the legislation this evening, Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said:
“13 years of Tory government has taken our country backwards allowing it to be treated as an open sewer. My constituents have been exposed to 75 days’ worth of sewage dumped in Portsmouth’s open spaces.
The disgraceful images that we see of sewage pipes pumping out raw human waste could have been avoided had Tory MPs not dismissed Labour’s warnings.
Labour is the only party that has a plan to end sewage dumping in Portsmouth and across the country.”
Jim McMahon OBE MP, Shadow Environment Secretary said:
“It is clear that we have a Tory government that has run out of ideas, only regurgitating old announcements that do nothing to end sewage dumping. That is why Labour has brought forward legislation to clean up our water system.
“Today, Tory MPs have an opportunity to support Labour’s water quality bill, which will put an end to sewage dumping once and for all. Their constituents will be watching to see if they will put the best interests of our country before their party.”
You can show support for city MP Stephen Morgan’s Stop the Sewage plan here: www.stephenmorgan.org.uk/pledge-your-support-stop-the-sewage
For full detail of Labour’s plan to end sewage pollution visit: https://www.stephenmorgan.org.uk/portsmouth-mp-doubles-down-on-campaign-to-end-sewage-pollution/
