Vote Shaun, get Sewage

By Andy Slaughter MP / @AndySlaughterMP

On the London section of the Politics Show last Sunday Shaun Bailey repeatedly stuck his foot in it on the issue of sewage – as has been picked up on the blogosphere.

If you speak to anyone who lives, works near or ocassionally strolls by the Thames, they will tell you that the state of the river is disgusting. For decades now sewage has been flowing into the Thames unabated and with nowhere else to go, polluting Britain’s greatest river. In November alone, 9.2 million tonnes of sewage flowed into the river because of inadequate sewer provision.

It is obvious to anyone that some work needs to be done to solve the problem of London’s antiquated sewer system. But Shaun Bailey would rather confuse the issue for cheap political points than deal with the issue head on.

When this topic was being discussed on the Politics Show Bailey appeared as the Tory representative and was joined by Sustainability Director for Thames Water, Richard Aylard, and Liberal Democrat MEP Sarah Ludford.

When Tim Donovan came to Bailey the first words from his mouth were “Let’s make this quite clear”. However, over the next 35 seconds he offered the following by way of clarity:

“…We’re not campaigning against the tunnel, we’re concerned.”

“Should it happen or not? That’s the real problem for me personally.”

“To say that London needs an increase in its sewage capacity is not even a discussion, we absolutely agree with that.”

Ummmm, quite clear?

He also refered to the Channel Tunnel as a “slightly different tunnel” – well, it’s good to know he has a full grasp of the issues.

He didn’t even seem to understand who his co-guests were. When Sarah Ludford went on the offensive against the Tories saying: “…they have to account for the fact that a Tory Government did nothing on this problem while it was in power for nearly two decades”, Bailey interupted: “Well neither has your government until now”. Ludford, a Lib Dem, replied: “My party unfortuantely hasn’t been in government for a while”. (87 years in fact).

To which Bailey rolled his eyes, twiddled his thumbs once and looked down at the floor.

On Shaun Bailey’s Facebook page he (amazingly) advises people to watch the show, but only from about 34 minutes in – completely missing the 4 minutes beforehand that examines the very real issue of millions of tonnes of raw sewage that gets pumped into the Thames every year.

This is a serious issue that requires serious politicians and real sollutions, not disegenuous scaremongering and not cynical (and confused) politiking.

I suggest Bailey is out of his depth, which – when it comes to sewage – is a rather dangerous place to be.

Visit Andy Slaughter’s new look website here.