Tories, Raw Sewage, And No Abuse

Even the Mail registered its unhappiness at the news: “Fury as Tory MPs vote to allow water companies to dump raw sewage into Britain's rivers and seas … Last year, raw sewage was discharged into waters more than 400,000 times … It comes seven weeks after wastewater plants were told by the government they may dispose of sewage not fully treated due to a shortage of chemicals caused by the lorry driver crisis”.

He didn't vote - he has people to do that sort of thing for him

There was more. “It comes as figures collected by charity the Rivers Trust show that all of England's rivers are currently failing to pass cleanliness tests, with 53 per cent of them in a poor state at least partly because of water companies releasing raw and partially-treated sewage. In England, just 14 per cent of rivers have good ecological status and none have good chemical status”. Another Bozo Brexit benefit, eh?

Basically Ken, at grass roots constituency level, it's like this

Social media users named and shamed their local MPs, with the London Economic providing a full roll of shame (eagle eyed observers will note that alleged Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, and Health Secretary Sajid Javid either voted against themselves or bodyswerved the vote).

Others noted that what was promised to voters in the run-up to the 2016 EU referendum was rather different, with Michael “Oiky” Gove telling Politico “Brexit is a chance to take back control of our environment … UK Environment Secretary’s vision of a Green Brexit”, and to prove that there’s always a Tweet, Carrie Symonds, as she then was, became terribly righteous at suggestions that environmental provisions might be at risk.

There's always a Tweet

“Vince Cable wrong to say that Brexit will mean we dilute environmental standards. Gove is clear, if anything we can now have higher standards”. That maybe should have read “Vince Cable right”. As Adam Ferrier emphasised. “2019: ‘We categorically promise that we will have the same or higher environmental standards than the EU 2021: ‘Do not swim at any of these beaches due to the raw sewage we've dumped’”.

Meanwhile, the Tweeter known as Jim Cognito asked “Have *any* MP explained why they’ve voted to allow raw sewage to dumped into the sea?” and Jim Pickard of the FT noted “there’s a lingering disquiet about Tory MPs voting last week against an amendment to stop private water companies dumping raw sewage into rivers and coastlines…not sure they’ve gauged the public mood on this”. And then came the taking of the biscuit.

David T C Davies claimed he was receiving abuse when in fact someone had merely complained. As R D Hale noted, lawyer Jane Heybroek passed severely adverse criticism on this lame attempt at playing the victim. Will Broome found Greg Hands doing something similar, musing “I think they’re being ‘instructed’ to claim they’re being abused online … This is my MP on Friday, cropping my tweet to encourage a ‘pile on’”.

First the attempt to connect the killing of David Amess to anonymous social media accounts, now the attempt to play the victim because voters call them out for endangering the environment. And endangering the public yet more: as one Tweeter has revealed, “A week after the Tories vote to pump raw sewage into our rivers and sea. Scientists reveal ‘Coronavirus can live in poo for 33 days after someone has had the disease’”.

Tories foul up once again, and once again it’s someone else’s fault. What a load of crap.

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