Lib Dems propose environmental reform for water companies during UK election campaign
- Liberal Democrats under Sir Ed Davey's leadership are focusing on environmental reform during the UK election campaign.
- They aim to tackle sewage issues and promote water firm reform to convince voters to choose them over Labour and the Tories.
- The proposed measures include putting environmental experts on water company boards to improve sustainability.
Sky's Matthew Thompson talked to Sir Ed Davey on the water. Sir Ed explained how the Liberal Democrats want people to choose them instead of Labour or the Tories. The Liberal Democrats promise to have experts on water company boards to take sewage spills seriously. Money from fines on water companies will go into a Water Restoration Fund to make water better. The Lib Dem leader fell off the board quickly. He said lakes like Windemere are important to our country and we need to make sure water companies do their job right. The Lib Dems want to change water companies into "Public Benefit Companies" and have experts report back to the community if they win the election. This is part of the Lib Dems' plan to make UK waterways better. In 2023, there were 3.6 million hours of spills in the UK, up from 1.75 million hours in 2022. Water UK, which represents sewerage companies, said this was bad but blamed it on heavy rain and better data collection. Sir Ed pointed out that United Utilities made a lot of money after a big sewage spill in Lake Windermere. He said it's time to make water companies accountable and give power to local communities. The Liberal Democrats want to have strong plans to stop sewage spills, like having a new regulator and stopping big bonuses for water bosses.