“Parents afraid to let their children near the water”: Shipley MP calls for water to be brought back into public ownership
Anna Dixon MP for Shipley, has this week called on the Government to put in place the “legal framework” that would allow water companies to be brought back into public ownership, arguing the private sector has damaged local rivers and put children's health at risk.
Speaking in Westminster Hall on Monday during the parliamentary debate on public ownership of water, Ms Dixon said the case for change was no longer theoretical, pointing to Paris, where bringing water services back under public control led to better service, better water quality and bills around a third lower than those paid by Yorkshire Water customers in Shipley.
The MP specifically raised the case of a seven-year-old boy from Bingley, who was left fighting for his life last summer after contracting E. coli poisoning linked to sewage pollution in the River Aire, as an example of the failings of the industry.
Speaking in the debate, Anna Dixon MP said: “My constituency of Shipley is fortunate to be home to two beautiful rivers: the Aire and the Wharfe, where people walk, exercise, enjoy nature and spend time with family and friends.
“The rivers should contribute enormously to residents’ quality of life, but from Bingley to Burley in Wharfedale, residents are afraid to let their children paddle or swim in the rivers because of the health risks created by the illegal dumping of human waste. Just last summer, one of my constituents in Bingley, a boy of seven, was left fighting for his life with E. coli poisoning. He suffered multiple organ failure, and he needed emergency operations and kidney dialysis to beat the infection. It is absolutely disgraceful that, so much time after the first tragic death that was vividly depicted in a Channel 4 documentary, private companies are still allowed to abuse our rivers and put profit before people and nature.
“Why are we in this terrible situation? As others have said, in 1989, the Tory Government did what no other country has done - there is no international precedent for this - and put the stewardship of our most precious natural resource into the hands of private companies. We were told that private ownership would bring investment, efficiency and innovation. Instead, we have seen rising debt, rising bills and more pollution in our rivers.
“It is claimed that there is no evidence that public ownership leads to better outcomes, yet in Paris, where there has been remunicipalisation, there has been improved service quality and water quality, and a reduction in price. In fact, water bills in Paris are about a third lower than they are for my constituents under Yorkshire Water.
“We must act now to prevent further harm being done to children like the boy in my constituency by the likes of Yorkshire Water and Thames Water. I join others in urging the Government to put Thames Water into special administration and to be bold in bringing forward a water reform Bill that goes beyond the Cunliffe Commission and sets out a legal framework that will enable us to build back a publicly owned water sector.”
Anna Dixon MP is calling on the Government to:
Set out a legal framework for returning the water sector to public ownership, using the Paris model of remunicipalisation as evidence that it can deliver better outcomes and lower bills
Bring forward a water reform Bill that goes further than the recommendations of the Cunliffe Commission
Put Thames Water into special administration as an immediate step
