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The Liberal Democrats have vowed to scrap Ofwat and replace it with “a tough new regulator” as part of a promise to take a “strong” stance against sewage pollution.
In its election manifesto, the party sets its sights on the water sector, outlining proposals to turn firms into public benefit companies and threatening to ban bonuses “until discharges and leaks end”.
The party criticises the past 14 years of Conservative rule and said the Tories “are letting water company bosses get away with paying themselves millions of pounds in bonuses while dumping millions of tonnes of raw sewage”.
Ofwat’s replacement, it added, would be given “new powers to prevent sewage dumps”.
Similar concerns about Ofwat were raised at GMB’s annual congress on Sunday (9 June), which heard that thousands of water workers, including its members, bear the brunt of public anger over pollution, which it said the regulator “seems to do very little about”.
Cliff Roney, GMB’s general delegate, said: “Labour says it will give Ofwat more powers, we say no, get rid of Ofwat, start again.
“What is needed is a new regulatory body with the right kind of focus, one that doesn’t allow the continuation of greed-driven profiteering but ensures full and proper investment of the industry’s infrastructure, workforce and consumers.
“A body that enforces all water companies to ensure that our water industry is even better than it was before the tragedy of privatisation.”
The Lib Dem manifesto pledges to introduce a single social tariff for water bills to eliminate water poverty. This idea was first mooted by George Eustice as environment secretary but snuffed out by Therese Coffey during her tenure heading up Defra.
It also includes plans to give environmental groups a place on water companies’ boards, as well as plans to implement Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act, which the current government had committed to but not passed. This would require sustainable drainage systems to be included in all new building and housing developments, which has been the case in Wales since 2018.
It has vowed to improve the health of waterways and beaches by introducing a sewage tax on water company profits as well as enforcing existing laws to ensure storm overflows only operate in “exceptional circumstances”.
Legally binding targets to prevent sewage discharges into sensitive nature sites would be set by 2030 and nature-based solutions would be embraced.
Local authorities meanwhile will be granted more powers to monitor the health of rivers, coastal waters and lakes and to restore the natural environment to help tackle climate change.
The party has also promised a 10-year emergency upgrade programme to make homes warmer and cheaper to heat. This would entail free insulation and heat pumps for low income households, and ensure that all new build homes are zero-carbon.
It has further pledged to establish a chief secretary for sustainability within the Treasury.
Hitting out at the Tories’ “lack of concern for the environment”, the party has pledged to drive a “rooftop solar revolution”. It said solar panel installation incentives would be expanded, including a “guaranteed fair price” for electricity sold back into the grid.
The manifesto also promises bold, urgent action to reach net zero by 2045 “at the latest”.
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