The Government has once again failed to protect the River Medway after they passed a bill through the House of Commons that doesn’t adequately strengthen environmental protections around discharging raw sewage into our waters.

Cllr Simon Curry, Medway Labour and Co-operative Group Spokesperson for Regeneration, Culture and the Environment said:

“I was disappointed to see that none of Medway’s Conservative Members of Parliament felt it appropriate to support the amendment that would have taken the necessary action to combat this crisis.

“We would have liked to see a bill that included higher fines for companies that break the pollution laws, annual Parliamentary scrutiny on the issue, and clear boundaries on what would constitute a progressive reduction of sewage discharge.

“Instead we can see a consistent pattern with this government. On issues of the environment overwhelming public pressure will force them to concede that there is in fact a problem, but then their solutions fall well short of what’s required. Their prioritisation of companies’ short-term gain and greed risks undermining any good work previously undertaken in the last few decades to help our rivers.

“We’ve had enough of a lack of ambition and resolve from this government when tackling the problems that threaten our communities. We need to help Medway and help our country by choosing change at the next elections and choosing Labour.”

Cllr Tristan Osborne, Medway Labour and Co-operative Group Spokesperson for Community Safety said:

“We are very disappointed with the Government’s lack of ambition when it comes to cleaning up our waters. While Britain languishes at the bottom of continental bathing water rankings and the River Medway is harmed, the Tories have their heads in the sand as to the true extent of the problem.

“We have filed a Freedom of Information Request with the Environmental Agency to try and work out just how much these discharges are affecting the River Medway. When it comes to local environmental issues, Medway Labour will always fight on the side of our community.”

 

 

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