The survey also revealed a major lack of trust in politicians to address sewage discharge into UK rivers, lakes and seas.
ADVERTISEMENTA majority of Brits would back a public enquiry into the UK’s sewage pollution crisis, according to new polling data from YouGov and Surfers Against Sewage (SAS).
With the imminent general election, 82 per cent of the people surveyed said they would support the next UK government setting up an independent public inquiry into the discharge of sewage in UK rivers, lakes and seas.
The polling also reveals a lack of trust in politicians to deal with the crisis. Nearly 60 per cent of people said they wouldn’t trust most or any UK politicians to tackle the sewage pollution problem. Almost a third said they didn’t trust any politicians to address the issue.
The lack of trust was highest among those who voted Conservative in the UK general election in 2019. Two-thirds said they wouldn’t trust most or any politicians to tackle the problem compared to 60 per cent of Liberal Democrat voters and 50 per cent of Labour voters.
“Our new polling data reveals just how deep the scars of the sewage scandal run, with a staggering lack of public trust in politicians to tackle the issue of sewage pollution. This should be a clear sign to each and every party that their current commitments to improve the health of our rivers, lakes and seas are not bold enough,” says Giles Bristow, CEO of SAS.
The scars of the UK sewage scandal ‘run deep’ for communities across the UK
SAS is calling on the next government of the UK to restore public trust by taking action and calling for a public inquiry into the discharge of sewage into UK rivers, lakes and seas.
For the last two weeks, members of the campaign group have been travelling the length of the UK on an Election Road Trip speaking to communities and activists working to clean up their waters.
“From Portobello Beach in Edinburgh to the River Dart in Devon, anger at the state of our wild waters is at fever pitch. The UK water industry needs a complete overhaul in order to address the fundamental flaws that have pushed our blue ecosystems to the brink and that are posing a serious hazard to human health, every day,” Bristow explains.
“On top of delivering their manifesto commitments, we are calling on the next government to immediately launch an independent public inquiry into the sewage scandal to determine what has gone so drastically wrong, and to ensure steps are taken to reshape the industry away from its catastrophic profiteering practices.”
He adds that, with more than four-fifths of the public backing such an independent inquiry, “it’s clear this demand is the will of the public”.