Political Parties Confront Sewage Issue but Experts Say There Is a ‘Financial Black Hole’

In the past five years Feargal Sharkey, the former lead singer of punk band The Undertones, has become the unlikely figurehead for a campaign to improve water quality and stop sewage spills. The Environment Agency says sewage spills into England’s rivers and seas more than doubled in 2023, with 3.6 million hours of spills last year, compared with 1.75 million hours in 2022. The water companies say there are good reasons for these statistics and maintain they are pumping big investment into the industry. So who is right and is nationalisation the answer? In October 2021 Mr. Sharkey found himself teamed up with the Duke of Wellington—the descendant of the battle of Waterloo victor—as the House of Lords tried and failed to amend the government’s Environment Bill and introduce stronger measures against water companies....