York MP Rachael Maskell says there’s “a sewer running through the middle of my city”.
She has called on the government to nationalise the water companies, saying the level of pollution in the River Ouse “is not acceptable”.
The Labour MP’s comments came after the Clean Water Bill was included in the King’s Speech, which looks to reform but not nationalise the sector.
She told the House of Commons that the country needs a new economic model than the one that has led to “grotesque inequalities”.
“As people are fleeced, the energy giants and water bosses profit, despite putting carbon in our air and sewage in our rivers, such as the Ouse in York – the second worst in the country.
“The Clean Water Bill must pull this service back into public hands and public accountability.”
The York Central MP gave way to former Labour leader turned Independent MP Jeremy Corbyn, who said the share price for buying back the water companies should “take account of the cost of pollution, of the money that is being paid to distant shareholders with no investment or interest in this country, and of the inconvenience caused to so many of our residents by constant leaks and the waste of water”.
Ms Maskell agreed. “It is daylight robbery, and people should not be profiting from our natural resources,” she said.
“We should not see the levels of pollution that exist in our rivers, which should be pure and clean. I have a sewer running through the middle of my city, and it is not acceptable.”
We have asked Yorkshire Water for a comment.
