COLUMN by Stroud MP Simon Opher.
One of the lesser known but exceptional places around Stroud is Hawkwood College, an independent charity that provides arts and educational courses in a beautiful setting just north of the town.
Last week they hosted The Big Wild Gathering, and I was honoured to be on a panel talking about the impact of political lobbying on the environment with Feargal Sharkey, Megan McCubbin, Rachel Bice (Yorkshire Wildlife Trust) and Shaun Spiers (Green Alliance).
We all had examples of how some – maybe many – political and business decisions have had a terrible impact on nature.
Just six per cent of our rivers are currently in good ecological health.
One in six animal species are at risk of extinction, as are more than half our wild plants – while some of the companies charged with protecting our environment are run into the ground and racking up massive levels of debt.
Ultimately, we, the taxpayer, will have to sort things out and literally pay to get the mess cleaned up.
It strikes me that we have an opportunity in the next few months to turn this around.
I believe that a priority must be for the Government to take the water companies back into public ownership.
That would be a big step in the right direction, save taxpayers millions of pounds a year and decisions would be made for the common good, not private profit.
There is a lot more to do besides (we have to, for example, re-imagine agriculture, and generously and consistently support sustainable farming – which the government has begun to do in its new Farming Roadmap).
But dealing with the mess and cost of water privatisation is a great place to start.
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