Labour's Chances Of Re-Election Hinge On Solving The Sewage Scandal. Here's Why

Demonstrators wearing blue take part in March for Clean Water demanding the new government enforce the current law and deliver new legislation that will end all pollution, and restore rivers, waterways, seas and reservoirs to full health by 2030.Environment secretary Steve Reed today announced a major shake-up of the water industry as Labour tries to finally get to grips with the sewage scandal.He said Ofwat, the watchdog tasked with regulating the privatised water companies, would be scrapped after years of failure.It will be replaced by a new “super regulator” to help the government achieve its target of cutting sewage pollution by half by 2030.Reed said the new watchdog would “stand firmly on the side of customers, investors and the environment” as he also dismissed calls for the water industry to be brought back into public ownership.The announcements came just days after new figures revealed that pollution incidents by water companies – such as the discharge of raw sewage into rivers – surged by 60% last year.Reed said: “The problems are to do with governance and regulation, and we are fixing those problems so we can fix the problem of sewage pollution and unacceptable bill hikes in the fastest time possible.”However, fresh polling released today by the More in Common think-tank shows that the clock is already ticking for the government, and that voters will exact their revenge at the ballot box if Labour fails to deliver.An astonishing 95% of the public believe that sewage spills into rivers and seas is an important issue.That means that regardless of political affiliation, virtually every voter in the country agrees that it is a problem that needs to be fixed urgently.If it isn’t, Labour can expect to be punished in the same way the Tories were a year ago.🧵Govt announcements on water & sewage are important in of themselves - but also speak to a wider issue about govt control. Starting with the obvious, tackling sewage spills matters to voters across the board & people think water companies have broken social contract. pic.twitter.com/Iq3G2goeuH— Luke Tryl (@LukeTryl) July 21, 2025The strength of feeling there is on the issue was evident from the responses to a focus group carried out by the think-tank.Jeff, a car park attendant from North Cornwall, said: “They’ve got to get the sewage problem sorted out because that is becoming a very major factor down here.”Lyn, a sixth form adviser from Worthing West, said: “I think that the new government, whether it is the existing one or a new one, needs to focus on the environment. In Worthing, we have sewage continually pumped into the sea.”More in Common’s UK director Luke Tryl said the stakes for the government could not be higher.He said: “This goes beyond the policy. Sewage in rivers is a thing that feeds a sense the government isn’t in control. That government isn’t able to make progress on stopping sewage being pumped makes people think government is powerless, which is why the 50% reduction pledge matters.“One of the biggest tests for any government in 2025 is to show it is in control and it can be a force for good in fixing the country. Sewage is a clear visible state failure, so getting spills down and properly regulating water companies help to tackle perception of powerless government.”The government announced its action plan in response to a damning report by the Independent Water Commission, led by former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe.He warned that consumers’ bills are likely to continue to rise as the water companies need the cash to repair and modernise the UK’s creaking sewage infrastructure.“The cost of producing water and wastewater services is likely to increase over the medium and longer term as the industry has to replace ageing assets, respond to higher environmental and public health standards and continue to adapt to the challenges of population growth and climate change,” he said.Anti-pollution campaigner and former Undertones singer Feargal Sharkey said the government had “lost control” of the water industry and that Steve Reed should resign.He said: “I had no expectations and I have not been disappointed. “We were promised a proper root-and-branch wide-ranging review. We were promised champagne, all we’ve actually got is sour milk.”Related...Labour Is Promising To Reduce Sewage Leaks – But Haven't We Heard All This Before?Britain's Raw Sewage Dumping Scandal Leaves Fish 'Full Of Cocaine'Tories Condemned After Sewage Spills More Than Double In A Year

Comments

Breaking news

Independent

Comments

Similar News

Labour launches crackdown on ministerial payoffs - as it emerges Treasury minister who quit over Bangladesh corruption probe got £5k

Child star Drake Bell fumes that he has been left struggling to pay rent while 'some fat cat with a cigar' 'is 'high on child labour' due to strict Nickelodeon payment terms

Labour minister Liz Kendall announces review of state pension age

Water bills set to soar by 30% in just five years as Labour confirms it will abolish Ofwat after damning report

Labour wealth tax war rages amid claims Reeves will reject calls for charge on assets - but could hit pensions reliefs instead

KEVIN MAGUIRE: 'Labour must find engaging story for the UK - or face election wipeout'

How Labour is 'taxing the high street into bankruptcy': Family-run pubs, bakeries and shops are hit with sneaky 200% hikes in business rates

Labour Is Promising To Reduce Sewage Leaks – But Haven't We Heard All This Before?

Labour brings c2c into public ownership – What does this mean for you?

Labour minister says he is ‘not at all surprised’ by Reform’s lead in the polls

'People are not more important than the team': Minister backs Labour rebels' suspension

SNP 'sitting on cash' rather than investing in Scottish hospices, warns Labour

I'm an EV expert and I think Labour's new Electric Car Grant is an expensive mess: GINNY BUCKLEY blasts £650m-backed scheme

Anas Sarwar urges sacked MP Brian Leishman to be team player if readmitted to Labour

Middle class families could be hit with soaring water bills under Labour's new plan to subside the costs for Britain's poorest households

Labour vows to make Britain’s rivers cleanest on record by halving sewage pollution

'I'm embarrassed to be from here!' Fed up locals in once-bustling town blast endless boarded up shops and drug addicts as they claim 'Labour does not care about us'

The inside story of how Starmer seized back control of Labour - but with a risk

Fury as Labour ministers unable to say how many foreign criminal deportations are being blocked by human rights laws

Brian Leishman will still attend Labour conference despite suspension

Breaking news

The history of Native American sports name changes, from the Obama era to Trump's latest comments

Why millions of people could benefit from self-driving vehicles in the UK

Alabama man's death is ruled a homicide after police kneeled on his neck

Sentencing hearing set for ex-Kentucky officer convicted in Breonna Taylor raid

Trump team ‘cooked up’ legal basis to go after Harvard funding, university lawyers tell judge

Major HRT supplier sanctioned after whistleblowers raise concerns over patient safety

Washington Post exodus grows as MSNBC host and Pulitzer Prize winner Jonathan Capehart takes Bezos buyout

Mother’s ex takes plea deal to avoid death penalty over murder of 13-year-old Madeline Soto

Video shows suspect carrying escaped sex trafficking victim to home ‘where she was kept for days without food or water’

Lawsuit challenges restrictions on Head Start for kids in the US illegally

Ecuadorian drug lord 'Fito' pleads not guilty after being extradited to New York

Venezuela opens an investigation into El Salvador's Bukele for alleged mistreatment of migrants

Double decker bus crashes into bridge in Manchester

Jimmy Buffett's widow accuses financial adviser of breaching fiduciary duty in $275M trust battle

Billy Joel says he's 'OK' and not 'deathly ill' after receiving brain disorder diagnosis

Wall Street Journal booted from White House press trip to Scotland after Epstein report

‘Skeletons marching to death’: Palestinians face hunger and gunfire as Israel pushes into central Gaza

Hollywood meets NBA hardwood: A look inside the rise of the Summer League Film Festival

ADVICE COLUMN: Q&A with Lanarkshire mortgage advisor Alison Foulds

Three women appear in court after van 'driven into arms factory fence' in Edinburgh

Boy killed in bus crash near Minehead while returning from school trip named by cops

The Cosby Show's Theo actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner drowns in Costa Rica

15 people injured as double decker bus crashes into bridge

Gaza food situation 'worst it's ever been', charity says &#8211; as UK promises &#163;40m in aid

'Hugely talented' ice hockey player dies in suspected fall from Ibiza hotel balcony

Noel Gallagher takes brutal swipe at Royal Family during Oasis hometown show

'Porta Potty party model' found in road with broken spine reveals what really happened

Boy, 14, killed after falling into canal full of crocodiles on family Mexico trip

Lionesses fans eager to 'reclaim title' as Women's Euro 2025 trophy 'so close'

'I am a surgeon in Gaza – food aid points are designed to be death traps'

Spain beachgoers asked to spot tattoos in bid to catch most-wanted fugitive

American 'assassin' Aimee Betro travelled to UK to carry out shooting, court hears

Gwyneth Paltrow slammed for latest cooking video after fans spot shocking kitchen behavior

Man who threw boy, 6, from 10th floor of Tate Modern is charged over Broadmoor attack

The once thriving 'destination' high street that has become a 'dying ghost town' with more than 40 empty shops

Horrifying update in death of Dog the Bounty Hunter's grandson, 13, after teen accidentally shot by his father

Fifteen people injured as double decker bus has roof torn off after ploughing into bridge

Paul Gascoigne's management 'give update on England legend's condition' after he was rushed to intensive care last week following a collapse at home

Consultants demand £6,000 to provide on-call cover for striking junior doctors this weekend - and even more if they actually do any work

Wife of Astronomer CEO is hiding out in $2.4M mansion after Coldplay kiss cam... as family rush to her side and neighbors break silence on her 'disgusting' husband

Music heiress, 21, is arrested after arranging huge brawl in a Tennessee Walmart

At least 20 dead and more than 170 rescued after Air Force training plane smashed into school in Bangladesh

The Cosby Show star dead at 54: Malcolm-Jamal Warner passes away after shock 'drowning incident'

Airbnb host stunned after guest flees stunning farm at sight of Trump-Vance flag nailed to fence post

I woke up from a four-week coma and my best friend was dead... a driver had smashed into us at 101mph - I've had to learn to do EVERYTHING again - and he's been caught offending AGAIN

Trans woman, 71, 'killed husband by slicing him more than 50 times with a samurai sword she bought in the 1980s', court hears

British dad, 51, stuck in Malaysia after suffering a stroke in front of his daughters on long-haul flight to 'dream family holiday'

Etan Patz 'killer' Pedro Hernandez has conviction overturned 46 years after NYC bodega abduction and murder

Donald Trump intervenes in Bryan Kohberger case to demand answers over unexplained Idaho murders

Uri Geller's Thames-side mansion where he hosted Michael Jackson as his best man has price slashed by £10.5MILLION after a decade on the market

Mystery as ex Ukrainian official is found dead in a swimming pool at Spain complex where Russian defector helicopter pilot was assassinated

Reese Witherspoon's daughter Ava Phillippe lands her first lead role in new romantic comedy

Father who wore gorilla outfit to pick up daughter at 'woke' school is reprimanded for 'serious safeguarding issue'

Manchester Airport 'police attacker' denies he 'saw red' and began 'pummelling' officer who was trying to arrest his brother

Amazon issues critical warning to 200 million customers over devious scam targeting Prime accounts

Liam Gallagher takes aim at 'snidey' Coldplay during Oasis gig after the band exposed 'cheating couple' with their concert kisscam

Judges finally reject asylum seeker's 13-year bid to avoid being returned from Britain to Iran… so he launches appeal saying he's actually an Afghan

Gaza food situation 'worst it's ever been', charity says – as UK promises £40m in aid