'Labour is in danger of dropping the ball on sewage - here's what they need to do'

Last week, Surfers Against Sewage campaigners projected a clear message onto Parliament: . Why? Because even though we believe this government has the will to end pollution, we will never shy away from raising the alarm when we sniff a sewer rat.

And just like its predecessors, this government already appears at risk of being led astray by the same fat cats of private equity and “vulture finance” who got us into this stinking mess to begin with.

First, a quick recap on how we got so far up shit creek… Water company shareholders have been allowed to siphon off more than £85 billion from the water system since privatisation, while risking very little of their own money. Pitiful levels of investment in pipes and infrastructure have left us with a crumbling system unable to deal with increasing volumes of sewage. Every private water company in England and Wales is under criminal investigation by the nd enforcement action by Ofwat. And thousands of water users around the country continue to pay the price, getting sick from doing the thing they love the most.

This is not an industry we can trust.

Yet “trust” seems to be the government’s approach. Consider their flagship Water (Special Measures) Bill, designed to clean up the water sector. Buried in the Bill is a clause that could allow costs to bail out failing water companies, like Thames Water, to be passed straight to us - the bill-payers. So, despite pre-election promises of “radical reform” and “transformational change,” the usual suspects are still pulling the strings. Case in point: just days after announcing the Bill, Environment Secretary Steve Reed was rubbing shoulders with major water investors at the Global Infrastructure Investor Association’s summit. Coincidence? Hardly.

This government needs to prove it can stand up to corporate pressure. We demand three essential changes to the Bill:

Ban the Bailout – No taxpayer or bill-payer should be on the hook for cleaning up after polluting water companies.

Empower Ofwat – Give the regulator a legal duty to protect the environment and clean up our waters. Right now, Ofwat’s priority isn’t public health or clean water; it’s ensuring companies make money.

Hold Polluters Accountable – Put water companies in breach of environmental obligations under Special Administration.

We don’t want to just call out government inaction, incompetence and inadequacies — our purpose is to deliver real change. And our #EndSewagePollution campaign has driven this new government to take some bold and positive steps forward. The recent announcement of the Independent Water Commission is potentially game-changing, granting the root-and-branch review we demanded. It’s a good start by the Secretary of State, and we expect him to see it through. But again, industry fingerprints appear all over this plan.

The Commission, as structured, doesn’t allow for a full review of water companies’ ownership, operations, or finances, on the false basis that the only choice for government is re-nationalise or re-regulate this privatised water system. Faced with this self-imposed binary choice, the government has appeared to rule out every option except continuing to prop up the failed systemruled out re-nationalisation. And in doing so, showed its hand and took away the jeopardy water companies and their financial masters were feeling. Without scope for new thinking, innovation and radical reform, these terms of reference, and therefore the Commission itself, are simply not fit for purpose. And this purpose couldn’t be more vital - fixing our broken and fundamentally f**ked up water system.

Oh, and one last thing. Who has been appointed to chair the Commission? An environmental advocate? A world-leading expert on public utilities? No, he’s a former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England. Big money speaks loudest, yet again.

Meanwhile, the shit keeps flowing and people continue to get sick from polluted water. Every. Single. Day. This scandal has gone on long enough. We’re done with the excuses, the finger-pointing, the lies. Solutions exist, the environment can heal and there can be clean water for all. It just takes bravery and ambition.

We’ve been fighting for clean water since the 1990s and are determined to harness the huge groundswell of anger and energy, felt across the country right now, to ensure this government delivers radical water sector reform.

And that’s why we’re descending on Westminster this Sunday for the March for Clean Water. We’re simply sick of surfing in shit and want and his Government to know that we won’t settle for anything less than an end to sewage pollution. Join us and make sure those in power hear our voice loud and clear: Cut the Crap. End Sewage Pollution. Now!

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