LONDON — Breaking: The U.K. is full of sh*t.
New figures published by the Environment Agency Wednesday show 2023 was the worst year on record for raw sewage spills in England.
It’s triggering a fresh round of political fighting over an issue that’s dogged the governing Conservatives — and got opposition parties spying an opportunity to kick up a stink.
The watchdog found that England’s rivers and seas endured 3.6 million hours of untreated sewage discharges by water companies in 2023, compared to 1.75 million hours in 2022.
The figures show a 54 percent increase in the number of sewage spills compared to 2022, with the total now standing at 464,000.
Water firms blamed record rainfall, but the center-left Liberal Democrats, a threat to the Tories in numerous coastal seats in the West Country, are pushing the issue repeatedly as a core message, replacing previously dominant battles like Brexit.
They’ve already pushed to turn privately-run water companies into not-for-profits and urged the abolition of water regulator Ofwat as the row makes waves on social media.
Party leader Ed Davey on Wednesday called on the government to declare a national environmental emergency, and wants an urgent meeting of the U.K.’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies.
“The Liberal Democrats have been warning this Conservative government for years that the sewage scandal is ruining the country’s rivers and beaches and pushing ecosystems to the brink of collapse,” he said.
Labour, the main opposition party, is also looking to make hay. It wants to give Ofwat powers to ban bonuses for water bosses who pump significant levels of raw sewage into rivers, lakes and seas — and make them criminally liable for breaches.
Shadow Environment Secretary Steve Reed said: “The Conservatives’ are too weak to get tough with polluting water companies.”
The government insists it’s forcing firms to clean up their act. Water companies say they are investing more than £180 million to tackle sewage spills.
The Environment Agency has launched a whistleblowing portal for workers to report serious environmental wrongdoing by their organizations.
“Today’s data shows water companies must go further and faster to tackle storm overflows and clean up our precious waterways,” Water Minister Robbie Moore said.
“We will be ensuring the Environment Agency closely scrutinize these findings and take enforcement action where necessary.”
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