After 14 years of neglect under the Conservatives, Britain’s rivers, lakes and seas are in an unacceptably poor state.

Recent published data show that record levels of sewage were pumped into Britain’s rivers in 2023.

The number of sewage discharges in the Sheffield Heeley constituency skyrocketed by 58%, to 487 sewage spills in 2023, compared to 308 in 2022. 

That’s an equivalent of 1,458 hours of sewage spilling into our waterways in 2023 – an increase of 74% since 2022. 

Since taking office, the Labour government has taken urgent action to crack down on polluting water companies, introducing major new legislation with powers to bring criminal charges against water bosses and ban bonuses. 

This week, the UK and Welsh Labour Governments have launched a new Independent Water Commission to review the water industry and ensure we bring in the regulations necessary to clean up our waterways. 

The Independent Water Commission will report back next year with recommendations to the Government on how to tackle the challenges we have inherited, and those of the future, to restore our rivers, lakes and seas to good health.

Louise Haigh MP for Sheffield Heeley, said:

“It’s shocking to know that there were 487 sewage spills in the Sheffield Heeley constituency alone last year . This is a result of 14 years of Conservative neglect of our waterways and environment. 

“I’m contacted regularly by residents who are very concerned about these ongoing spills and the effect this is having on their community and the environment. 

 “In Government, we pledged urgent action to ensure polluting companies—not the public—pay the price for this environmental disaster. We are delivering on that promise, taking decisive steps to finally clean up our rivers and seas.

“We have already introduced tough new laws to hold water bosses criminally responsible for illegal sewage dumping, this new Independent Commission will help us take the necessary action to clean up our waterways for good.”

The recommendations from this Independent Commission will form the basis of further legislation to attract long-term investment and clean up our waters for good – injecting billions of pounds into the economy, speeding up delivery on infrastructure to support house building and addressing water scarcity.

The Commission will be chaired by Jon Cunliffe, former Deputy Bank of England Governor, with decades of economic and regulatory experience.