Water, water everywhere
The latest annual review of the water industry shows that once again it is failing to meet environmental standards and regularly pumps raw sewage into the UK’s rivers and seas.
This follows on from Southern Water which was fined £90 million for doing just that for years, in order save on investment, and dupe its regulators and environmental inspectors. Even as a hardened and cynical old hack I found that one shocking, but you have to ask where is the political uproar?
At the very least the freedom that the industry has been given to “self report” its environmental standards should be stripped away but also court fines should only be the start of the matter. What of the industries which have suffered as a result, they should sue? What of the bills millions pay to have their sewage treated, they have been defrauded? Why are the companies allowed to get away with not investing enough to ensure standards are met?
This industry has shown time and again that it is not fit to be trusted, it is treated as a cash cow by foreign owners and it is appallingly under-regulated.
If Labour need a new policy to stand out from the Tories, how about winning the green vote and regulating this industry properly?
https://jonty.substack.com/