In World Water Week We Took our Campaign to Parliament

Campaigners from across the country – ordinary people who care about people getting sick from swimming in the sea on their holidays, the devastation of our chalk streams, the dying rivers and lakes – took our outrage, our disappointment, our sadness and our evidence to Westminster this week. 115 MPs showed up at our Drop In. The majority supported our call for an end to pollution for profit. We were there to stop the government’s new Water Bill which shackles us to the failed privatised water system, lets criminal polluters off the hook, and threatens to loosen environmental legislation to make pollution legal. We want the people that care & pay for our water sector in charge – put water into public ownership, because the evidence is that its cleaner, cheaper and fairer.

Our Asks

1. Examine Ownership – A transparent and independent review of all options learning from what works internationally . Use this to design a bespoke modern public ownership system with public consultation.Water is cleaner, cheaper and fairer in public ownership.

2. Enforce the law – Hold polluters to account, using the full force of the law, and say NO to deregulation masquerading as “streamlining.” Follow through on the thousands of criminal prosecutions, and prosecute using Peter Hammond’s data on illegal dry spills and the 15,000 illegals reported in the Times.

3. Give the Public a Say – The public must be at the centre of the future of water

AND

Put Thames in SAR and move it to public ownership – this then tests their ridiculous model on the cost of transition, and gives them confidence in how it can be done

This is who turned up…

76 Labour MPs, 24 LD, 10 Cons, 2 Green (1 peer), 2 Independent, 1 Plaid. Thats 18% of the House! Most of who held our placards supporting public ownership.

It was astonishing to see the tide turning to support a modern public ownership that gives us and our environment a safe and sustainable future.

Ash Smith (WASP and Dirty Business), Prof Becky Malby (ICRG), Clive Lewis MP, Peter Hammond (WASP and Dirty Business)

Dirty Business

After the massive turnout of MPs for our Water reform drop in, we co-hosted a screening of Dirty Business with Channel 4 in the houses of parliament. The integrity of the real people featured in the programme filled the room. All the campaigners yet again turning up to deliver MPs responsibility to them – so many years after Heather’s death and nothing has changed. Rob’s humble statement that he had to leave the environment agency because it was protecting private equity not the environment. Peter Hammond with yet more data thats being ignored. Ash incredulous that the minister thought the public health disaster of no drinking water or water to flush your toilet was where the bar was set to remove water company licenses. Thank you Dirty Business for making it so obvious that more of the same won’t work. If you were outraged please do go to The Sewage Campaign Network and take action. Its time our democratically elected MPs stepped up.