Cameron Thomas

It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. Tewskesbury is characterised by its waterways, and most commonly known for its propensity to flood. It floods because, from north to south, the western boundary is the River Severn, and the River Avon also flows into Tewkesbury town. Tributary waterways course across the constituency. I will return to flooding shortly. According to The Guardian, among other sources, the River Avon is one of the worst-polluted rivers in England. There were 6,573 sewage spills in 2023, registering the River Avon as the third most-polluted river in England. In the same year, sewage was released into the River Severn for more than 30,000 hours across 3,057 spills, registering the Severn as another of the worst-polluted in England and Wales. Since the general election, I have been working with Tewkesbury Friends of the Earth and Safe Avon, two dedicated groups of local environmental campaigners. In November 2024, I joined both groups at the Abbey mill in Tewkesbury to draw water samples from the River Avon. The samples we recovered tested consistently with the findings they have been recording since June 2023: they contained very high nitrate pollution and high phosphate pollution. Such levels of those pollutants stimulate algae growth, which absorbs the oxygen in the water and suffocates wildlife. The pollution levels are also dangerous to people. Please take a moment to consider what it is like for thousands of my residents whose kitchens, dining rooms and living rooms are swamped with this filth on an annual basis. Severn Trent Water’s chief executive officer was paid £3.2 million last year, while my residents’ water bills are due to rise by 40%. To add insult to injury, the Environment Agency awarded Severn Trent its highest grade for environmental performance. That, in and of itself, is a scandal. The Liberal Democrats want to stop overseas shareholders drawing money out of private water companies that are already struggling to stay solvent. Rather than nationalise these companies, we want to see them turned into public benefit companies. I call on the Government to prevent CEOs from drawing huge bonuses while this scandal continues, and to fine them according to the mass of sewage discharged.