Greens will be a “small but powerful” voice for climate protection in Parliament

The Greens will be a “small but powerful” voice for climate and nature in the next legislative period, said one of the party’s newly elected MPs.

Ellie Chowns, MP for North Herefordshire, said the Greens would be an “independent, bold and brave voice” that would hold Labour to its climate promises.

She also said that the party would join newly elected Liberal Democrat MPs in putting pressure on Sir Keir Starmer’s government to take urgent action on the sewage scandal and the dire state of Britain’s rivers.

The Greens and the Liberal Democrats supported Is Rivers Manifesto – a five-point plan to save the waterways – but the Labour Party has not yet given the plan its full support.

Ms Chowns is one of four Green MPs in the new Parliament, a record result for the party, which previously held just one seat. With a further 39 seats in England and Wales, the party came second in terms of vote share.

Other MPs include party leaders Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay, and Sian Berry.

Mrs Chowns said I the election result shows a “real growing desire among the entire electorate to see a strong green voice in parliament”.

“We have found that many former Labour voters are disillusioned with Labour’s retreat from commitment to the policies needed to tackle the climate crisis,” she said.

Labour won an overwhelming majority with a manifesto that included a commitment to decarbonise Britain’s electricity supply by 2030 – a goal widely welcomed by environmental activists and renewable energy companies.

The company announced that it would achieve this by setting up a state-owned energy company called GB Energy that would invest in renewable energy.

However, the party has been criticised for its decision to abandon its plan to spend £28 billion a year on its green promises and instead commit to just £15 billion a year.

“What we saw during the election campaign and also in the run-up to it was that Labour had walked away from all sorts of commitments it had previously made on climate change,” Ms Chowns said.

“A Labour majority of this size shows how important it is to have Green votes there.”

In addition to the transition to net zero emissions, Ms Chowns said the Greens will also push Labour on conservation and the crisis facing our waterways.

Ms Chowns said she was “hopeful” that the new Parliament could mark a turning point for Britain’s rivers, which are in a dire state due to pollution from sewage and agriculture.

Before the election I called on all major political parties to commit to a five-point manifesto to save Britain’s rivers.

#1. RIVER HEALTH: 77% of rivers in good condition by 2027

Current situation: England’s rivers were once havens of biodiversity, but the vast majority now struggle to maintain healthy ecosystems for plants and animals. Only 14 percent of England’s rivers are currently ecologically healthy and not a single river has achieved good chemical status. The current government has set a legal target for 77 percent to achieve good ecological status by 2027 – but without urgent action this will not happen.

Goal: Within the first six months of its term in office, the next government will publish a roadmap for how it will achieve this existing legal target and its long-awaited chemicals strategy. The plan must include increased funding for the Environment Agency so the regulator can do its job – and enforce the law.

#2. WASTEWATER: By 2030, there will be no damage from wastewater leaks in high-priority areas, including swimming areas and natural areas.

Current situation: Bathing waters and natural areas are being destroyed by wastewater discharges, but water companies will not be obliged to clean all these areas until 2045.

Goal: By 2030, untreated wastewater will not cause harm to high-priority sites (bathing areas, nature reserves, national parks and chalk streams). Water companies that do not meet this target will be prosecuted. Wherever possible, nature-based solutions for wastewater treatment will be used.

#3. WATCHDOG: Regulators will stop water companies from destroying the environment for profit

Current situation: Water companies have paid rich dividends to their investors but have not invested enough in their infrastructure to prevent environmental damage. This is partly due to an uncoordinated regulatory system that prioritizes economic outcomes over the environment.

Goal: Within its first year in office, the next government will publish a plan to reform the regulation of water companies. This plan must be enshrined in law and implemented within the first term. This includes stronger powers to restrict dividends and bonuses for poorly performing water companies, and more resources for prosecutions. A ‘green duty’ will be imposed on Ofwat, which will force the regulator to give greater importance to the environment when making decisions about water companies’ business plans.

#4. BATHING: Create 100 clean bathing spots in rivers by 2030

Current situation: In Britain, people have discovered the joys of wild swimming. But there are only 15 official swimming spots on English rivers, and many of them are unsafe.

Goal: 100 bathing spots in English rivers by the end of the next parliamentary term. The Environment Agency will have to monitor water quality throughout the year and take action to improve water quality at these spots. Bathing regulations will be changed so that polluters can be prosecuted if bathing spots fail water quality tests.

#5. AGRICULTURE: Farmers must receive financial support to improve water quality and face enforcement action if they damage the environment.

Current situation: Agriculture is the biggest source of pollution in many rivers, but many farmers warn that they will struggle to make ends meet with agricultural subsidies after Brexit. At the same time, the Environment Agency is failing to enforce water quality regulations in agriculture.

Goal: In its first year in office, the next government will strengthen its environmental land management programme so that farmers receive more grants, support and advice to take action to improve water quality. The Environment Agency will commit to increasing the number of farms it inspects each year – and taking action against those who break the ‘farming rules for water’.

How you can take action to save Britain’s rivers

If you want to encourage the next government to protect Britain’s rivers, you can support Is manifest by doing the following:

• Write to the candidates for the MP election in your community and ask them if they IThey support the five-point plan and are pushing for it to be included in their party’s manifesto in time for next month’s elections.
• Write to your local water company and ask them to sign the commitments and be part of the solution, not part of the problem, for Britain’s polluted rivers.
• share I‘s manifesto on social media and in your local community.
• Get involved in the support groups IManifesto, who are already doing incredible work to preserve our precious waterways
• If you have a story about your local river that you think should be featured in our campaign, contact [email protected]

Labour has yet to deliver on all its promises, including increasing funding for the Environment Agency so it can properly enforce regulations.

Starmer had praised IIt was a “really important election campaign”, but Labour shied away from making major spending commitments before being elected to government.

In its election manifesto, the party announced “special measures” for water utilities. These include limiting bonus payments to executives responsible for environmental destruction and introducing automatic fines for environmental pollution.

Labour has also announced plans to create nine new National River Walks and three new National Forests during his term in office.

In addition to the Greens, the Liberal Democrats also showed one of their best election results ever on Thursday, sending 71 MPs to Westminster.

“There will be a number of other MPs in Parliament who are very passionate about the issue of water pollution. This is a key issue for the Greens and the Liberal Democrats have also campaigned strongly on it.

“I am confident that together we can push the Labour Party to take action on this issue.

“It’s not just about throwing money at it. It’s about more effective regulation. I think there’s an opportunity here because I hope a Labour government will be more willing to recognise that a key role of government is to prevent pollution and to have regulations in place to ensure that polluters pay to clean up their mess.”

Next week will be an opportunity for Labour to set out its plans for water companies, as the sector’s economic regulator Ofwat announces its provisional decision on the companies’ business plans for the next five years.

The much-anticipated decision will provide an indication of the extent to which the regulator will allow companies to pay higher bills to carry out the infrastructure work needed to solve the wastewater crisis.