Rewiring the State

Amanda Martin Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Louise Haigh]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his question. My thoughts and sympathies are with all those affected in his constituency by the wildfire. Some £100 million has already been invested in fire and rescue services, and we will continue to look at the issues that he raises to do with equipment in future Budgets. We are engaging with our European neighbours on exactly this issue, and we are well aware of the opportunities that arise from it.

[Amanda Martin (Portsmouth North) (Lab)]

I welcome the First Secretary to her place, and I thank her for making her first constituency visit to Portsmouth North and the fantastic Griffon Marine. As Portsmouth is a coastal city, residents are rightly furious that Southern Water continues to pump sewage into our seas. We have had hardly any rain this summer, yet sewage pollution and rising bills continue while private companies make profits. It is abundantly clear that privatisation under the Tories has failed the British public again and again. Could the First Secretary of State set out a little more detail of the Government’s plans to reform the industry and give the public greater control over our water companies?

[Louise Haigh]

It was a great pleasure to visit my hon. Friend and announce our procurement reforms at Griffon Marine in her constituency. The Prime Minister has been repeatedly clear that more public control of our water industry is not just desired but absolutely necessary. The current system, with the poor infrastructure, investment, higher water bills and the kind of sewage, leakage and poor quality that she described, can continue no longer. We will set out our plans for reform shortly.