The Times: Sewage will influence most voters at the next election
More than half of the public will weigh the government’s handling of sewage spills into how they vote at next year’s election.
Polling of 6,000 adults by Survation, a research company, found that discharges into rivers and seas will affect how more than 56 per cent of people vote.
The figure rose to 66 per cent among those who voted Labour at the 2019 election, and dipped to 51 per cent among Tory voters. However, there are 31 Conservative seats, including the prime minister’s in Richmond, Yorkshire, and the chancellor’s in South West Surrey, where the figure jumps to 60 per cent or more.
The results suggest political pain over sewage pollution for the Conservatives, given the government was found by a watchdog to have weakened environmental protections by dropping river rules last month to boost housebuilding. Steve Reed, the new shadow environment secretary, has promised to be tough on river pollution, though Labour has not yet pledged to block or undo the rules change.
