Sarah Dyke MP has slammed Conservative MPs for voting down sewage sickness compensation scheme and called on the Government to take urgent action on water pollution

As the Liberal Democrat spokesperson in a debate on bonuses for water company executives, Sarah Dyke, MP for Somerton and Frome, criticised the Government for earlier voting against an amendment tabled by fellow Lib Dem MP Tim Farron. The amendment would have provided compensation to those who have suffered illness as a result of sewage in our waterways. Sarah Dyke went on to demand that the Government take urgent action on water pollution.

A BBC Panorama investigation broadcast on Monday night revealed that one water company, United Utilities, had wrongly downgraded dozens of pollution events, causing them to disappear from the official figures. These included the release of sewage into Lake Windermere. The Liberal Democrats are calling for a criminal investigation to be opened immediately.

In 2020 and 2021, water company executives paid themselves £51 million in remuneration, including £30.6 million in bonuses over the same period. 

Sarah Dyke, Liberal Democrat MP for Somerton and Frome, said: "The Government should listen to Liberal Democrat policies and replace the friendly goldfish Ofwat - a harmless decoration with a poor memory - with a fierce and determined new regulator, a tiger shark.

"Our waterways can recover, but they need action now, before it is too late. We need a tax on sewage water companies, not huge holiday bonuses. We need a tough, toothed tiger shark of a regulator. We need our environment to have long-term protection from a serious and committed Government. 

"This Government urgently needs to listen to the people speaking up for our silent water."