Tories are 'too weak to take on Wessex Water'

Labour is urging the government to immediately ban bonuses for water bosses as sewage spills rise to record highs. 

The party's shadow environment secretary Steve Reed asked the Government “what are you waiting for?” and challenged them to introduce an immediate ban on bonuses. 

Data by the Environment Agency reveals there were 464,056 spills in 2023, up 54 per cent from 301,091 in 2022. 

The number of sewage discharges in the south west has skyrocketed by 89.5 per cent, from 41,453 sewage spills in 2023, compared to 21,878 in 2022.  

Mr Reed said: “The Conservatives’ are too weak to get tough on Wessex Water. 

“Instead of imposing Labour’s ban on water bosses’ bonuses, Steve Barclay has weakly chosen to only talk about doing it.  

“The evidence is clear. We don’t need the dither and delay of a consultation, we need immediate action. 

“That is why Labour will put the water companies under tough special measures. We will strengthen regulation so law-breaking water bosses face criminal charges, and give the regulator new powers to block the payment of bonuses until water bosses have cleaned up their filth.” 

After the Environment Agency released figures showing a sharp rise in sewage spills in England, clean water campaigner Feargal Sharkey said his reaction was “one of utter astonishment”. 

He claimed that water companies were breaking the law by dumping sewage when it rained, as that should only happen in “exceptional” circumstances. 

He also accused the Environment Agency of being a “lackey and an apologist for the water industry”, and called for both the EA and regulator Ofwat to be scrapped, because the current system was not working. 

“There is not a single river in England currently listed as in good overall environmental health. Every single river in England is polluted and one of the largest sources of that pollution is the water industry,” he told the PA news agency. 

And in response to calls from the water industry to be allowed to triple investment to £10 billion over the period 2025-2030 to fix the problem, which would come from consumer bills, Mr Sharkey said: “They’ve had our money. They’ve had enough money to build a properly functioning sewage system. 

“A question we should be asking is, where’s our money going, what happened to it, when are we getting a refund?” 

“Why on earth would anybody want to pay for a service for a second time that you’ve already paid for and didn’t get the service you needed the first time? 

“Any money needs to be spent right now, needs to come out of the shareholders’ pockets and not another penny of the public’s money should go into these failures of companies,” he said.