North Shropshire Lib Dem candidate calls for sewage tax on water companies
The Liberal Democrats are calling for a Sewage Tax on water companies, saying water company Severn Trent discharged raw sewage into rivers 60,982 times for a total of 558,699 hours.
Raw sewage discharges by water companies occurred for three million hours across the country last year, including across the Shropshire and the north Shropshire constituency.
The party has proposed a Sewage Tax of 16 per cent on water companies' pre-tax profits. It says Severn Trent Water made £375 million in profits last year, meaning they would pay £60 million in Sewage Tax to help clean up North Shropshire’s rivers.
Liberal Democrat candidate for North Shropshire Helen Morgan said: “It is absolutely shocking that our towns and villages are suffering such a huge level of pollution. The Government needs to step in and stop the pollution of our waters but so far all we've seen is them take our area for granted.
“Pumping raw sewage into our treasured rivers and streams leaves a bad taste in the mouth, particularly when these companies are raking in millions of pounds in profits.
“Water companies need to clean up after their mess. Why should taxpayers be left to foot the bill for water companies who have shown utter disregard for our local environments.
“We can’t wait any longer, we need to end the sewage crisis our area is facing, with hundreds of hours of sewage going into our towns we need a plan that brings this to an end."
