Labour scorn as Hertford and Stortford MP Julie Marson votes to block sewage discharge Bill

Bishop’s Stortford’s Tory MP is under fire for helping to vote down a Labour Bill to stop sewage dumping in the Stort and rivers across the country.

Julie Marson voted with her Conservative colleagues – including constituency neighbours Robert Halfon in Harlow, Saffron Walden MP Kemi Badenoch and North East Herts’ Sir Oliver Heald – to block progress of the Water Quality (Sewage Discharge) Bill proposed by Shadow Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary Jim McMahon.

His Opposition Day motion last Tuesday (April 25) would have set aside Commons time on Tuesday (May 2) to debate and vote on the Bill.

The legislation would introduce automatic fines on water companies that dump sewage, set legal requirements to monitor all overflow outlets, fine companies that breach the rules and impose legally binding targets to reduce dumping.

He told the House: “It is clear that the Tories either do not know or do not care about the human impact of the Tory sewage scandal.

“This affects every stretch of our coastline across the country, and it shows the contempt that the Tories have for our seaside towns, from Hartlepool to Hastings, from Bournemouth to Falmouth, from Camborne to Blackpool, and everywhere in between.

“Beyond the coast, our national parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which are home to our stunning lakes, and our rivers, the arteries of our nation, are being sullied by the Tory sewage scandal.”

After the Bill was blocked, Josh Dean, Hertford and Stortford Labour Party’s parliamentary spokesman, said: “Fresh off a challenge to her candidacy in Hertford and Stortford, Julie Marson has chosen to celebrate by giving water companies the green light to continue to dump sewage in our water.

“It is a vote that will further damage our environment and endanger the extremely rare chalk streams in Hertfordshire, like the River Stort, as well as the wildlife that depends on them.”

Of around 200 chalk streams in the world, the majority are in the UK and around 10% are native to Hertfordshire, making them a globally rare and locally significant feature. There were 96 sewage dumps in Hertford and Stortford last year.

Mr Dean said: “While the Tories have no desire to take the necessary action to protect our water, Labour offers a serious plan to tackle sewage dumping in Britain. We need a local Labour MP who will protect our environment and stand up to polluting water companies, not an invisible Tory who shrinks away from the fight.”

On April 21 it was confirmed that Mrs Marson had won a ballot of local party members, confirming her as the Hertford and Stortford Conservative Association’s candidate for the next General Election, after the executive voted 8-7 against her automatic adoption. The next General Election must be held by January 2025.

The Indie has offered Mrs Marson the opportunity to respond to Labour’s claims.