Climate and Nature Bill

Julia Buckley Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 24th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mary Creagh]

I apologise for accidentally promoting the right hon. Member for Herne Bay and Sandwich (Sir Roger Gale) to Father of the House. He spoke as a grandfather with passion and energy on this issue, as did the former baby of the House, my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham East—it is an issue that spans generations and parties. In this debate we have had a tour of all the beauty that is in our different constituencies. I feel that I, along with the Climate Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy), will have to go on a massive tour of Britain, to do our briefs justice and make headway on this issue.

I also pay tribute to a late, great friend of mine, Lord John Prescott. We have heard talk about Kyoto; he showed that a seafarer from Hull could be the person who got climate agreement when the talks were gridlocked. He showed that the nature and climate emergencies are not elite preoccupations; it is the preoccupation not just of landowners or protestors, but of every working person in this country, and every citizen of this planet. I pay tribute to him and share my deepest condolences to his family and friends on their loss. Do go and see “Kyoto” at the Soho Place theatre, and get the extra-special climate lanyard on the way in.

[Julia Buckley (Shrewsbury) (Lab)]

Does the Minister agree that it is vital that we embrace the Bill in order to protect those everyday constituents such as mine in Shrewsbury, for whom flooding has moved from a once-in-100-years event to a regular misery each year, as they pay the human cost of climate change?

[Mary Creagh]

I agree with my hon. Friend, and she is right that we are investing more than ever in flood defences. I am now going to make a bit of progress.

We know that we are living through an age of extinction, and that damaged ecosystems are less able to absorb the emissions that we continue to create. Last year was not just the hottest year on record, but the first to record an average global temperature above the internationally agreed 1.5°C threshold.

From the Valencia floods to the Florida hurricanes, from typhoons in the Philippines to droughts and wildfires in the Amazon, and of course the devastating wildfires that have left thousands under mandatory evacuation orders in Los Angeles, we saw extreme weather exacerbated by climate change last year. Dr Friederike Otto of Imperial College London called 2024 a “reality check” and said that it

“showed just how dangerous life is at 1.5C.”

This is not somebody else’s problem; this is not our children’s problem—this is our problem. As our Prime Minister has said, climate change knows no borders. It threatens national security and economic stability. Our mission is to end poverty on a liveable planet, so the days of sticking our head in the sand and betraying future generations are over. We are changing course.

Rivers, Lakes and Seas: Water Quality

Julia Buckley Excerpts

Wednesday 15th January 2025 Westminster Hall

[Julia Buckley (Shrewsbury) (Lab)]

My constituency is the beautiful, historic town of Shrewsbury, and we are famously surrounded by what we affectionately call “the loop”—the River Severn. In the past, we enjoyed the benefits of having such a beautiful, natural resource flowing through our town centre; it is fabulous for tourists and other people who enjoy walking along its banks.

However, after the last 14 years of illegal sewage dumping by Severn Trent Water, to which the last Government turned a blind eye, we have been left with a toxic, filthy river that poses a health risk to my residents. Our abundant wildlife has declined, our annual fishing contest has been cancelled and infection rates of diseases such as E. coli are on the rise among wild swimmers, paddle boarders and rowers. That affects our tourism industry and local businesses, as well as the quality of life for our local residents.

The huge volume of sewage dumped in our river by Severn Trent Water arrived not just through the 32 sewage outflows in our town centre, but, far more worryingly, through manholes on the pavement of our river paths. Sewage outflows are monitored, but manholes are not. Families, schoolchildren and dogwalkers have to wade through human excrement, sanitary products and wet wipes.

This disgraceful state of affairs is completely untenable and must be tackled urgently, so I wholeheartedly welcome the Water (Special Measures) Bill, which this Labour Government have brought so quickly to the table. It will ensure the increased accountability of private water companies so that they step up in their responsibilities to invest in the infrastructure that will better manage the sewage, rather than allowing it to pollute our watercourses.

In Shrewsbury, as in most constituencies, much of the scrutiny work is carried out by my local volunteer campaign group Up Sewage Creek—a brilliant group with a brilliant name. It recently raised its own funds to purchase more water testing kits so it can prove the impact of the overflowing manholes, which, as I said, are not already monitored. Many of my campaigners have become so frustrated that they are now pushing for nationalisation, and I understand their frustration.

[Cameron Thomas]

Will the hon. Lady join me in celebrating the activities of local campaigners who do so much to bring this scandal to light?

[Julia Buckley]

As I was saying, many of my campaigners have lost all confidence in those water companies. Although I understand their strong feelings, especially given that Severn Trent Water has given out large bonuses and is about to increase our bills by 46%, I also recognise that the Water (Special Measures) Bill will do exactly that: it will put the water companies into special measures. It puts them on notice by scrutinising them and pushing them into corrective action with transparent governance scrutiny.

I would go further still, so my message to the water companies is that this is their last chance saloon. All eyes are on them, and the water commission will look at alternative governance mechanisms. Both for my wildlife and the health of my residents, time is running out.

Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords]

Julia Buckley Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 16th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Julia Buckley (Shrewsbury) (Lab)]

In my rural constituency of Shrewsbury, we have England’s longest river, the magnificent Severn. It flows through our historic town centre and meanders through our outlying villages, but my constituents are running out of patience with the current privatised water company, Severn Trent Water. It is failing its customers, failing the environment and, according to last week’s “Panorama”, failing financially.

Under the last Government, the whole water industry became a haven for profiteering. In the last four years, the boss of Severn Trent Water has been paid £13 million for “performance related pay”, yet in 2023 there were over 2,000 incidents of sewage dumping in my constituency alone—an increase of 42% on the previous year. My residents have their own words for that kind of performance, and they are not pretty.

To top that off, we have now heard that customers’ bills are set to rise by 46% over the next five years. This is supposedly justified by investment in the long overdue infrastructure upgrades that we need in order to reduce the sewage pollution spills into our rivers. However, companies continue pay out dividends to their shareholders, while customers are aggrieved because they have been paying out for years while the pollution went ahead. Quite rightly, customers feel that they are paying twice to solve the problem. Has there ever been a worse case of paying more and getting less?

Although we in this House welcome today’s watershed Bill, our residents are much more concerned with a different bill: the average annual water bill for Severn Trent Water customers is set to rise from £439 to £580. That is not acceptable and will be unaffordable for many, but it is also terrible value for money, given the disgraceful pollution of our river that has seen not just public health problems from infections as serious as E. coli, but devastating impacts on our ecology, including depleted fish, birds and flora along the banks of our river, which is now strewn with wet wipes and sanitary products instead of wildlife.

In Shrewsbury we have a very large and active campaign group called Up Sewage Creek, which is ably led by Claire Kirby. Many of the group are citizen scientists who give up their time to test the water quality and highlight the deterioration of our most prized asset. On behalf of my frustrated residents and our otherwise beautiful river, I urge the Minister to not only bring forward the criminal sanctions and stronger regulation in the Water (Special Measures) Bill, but to ensure that the independent water commission into the water sector holds no bars in its examination of the privatised water industry, and explores all avenues to clean up our water and shake up the sector.

Rural Affairs

Julia Buckley Excerpts

Monday 11th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Julia Buckley (Shrewsbury) (Lab)]

I thank the Secretary of State for setting out, earlier today, the support that our Government have put in place for rural areas, and particularly longer-term planned policies that will bring much-needed sustainability to rural communities such as mine in Shrewsbury. There are more than 350 farms in the beautiful villages to the west and south of Shrewsbury town, where there are stunning views over the Shrewsbury hills; it is an area of outstanding natural beauty and a well-known hiking spot. Locally, as nationally, farmers and the wider rural community have been concerned for several years, because despite all the noise from Opposition Members, the previous Conservative Government left our farmers to struggle. In fact, they presided over a deterioration in the profitability of British farming that decimated most of our smallest farms. They have been squeezed out of business due to ever higher overheads, low supermarket prices and creeping land values.

Where was the support from the previous Conservative Government? Where was the post-Brexit funding? Where was the post-Brexit trading deal that was to have protected animal exports? Where was the support with customs red tape? Instead, there were the SFI and ELM schemes, which were rushed, complicated and too short-termist to be of any real use. It is no surprise that there has been an underspend of £227 million on those schemes in the past two years, as farmers could not respond quickly enough to the complex schemes, and the schemes did not match their need for longer-term planning. That underspend is criminal when we consider that one in 10 dairy farmers has gone under in the past two years.

All across the industry, farmers are telling us the same thing: British farming is no longer profitable. This weekend, like many Members, I was out visiting my local farms in Arscott and Yockleton, just outside Shrewsbury. I met fourth and fifth-generation farmers. Yes, they did have questions for me about the threshold for agricultural land, and I was able to sit with them and explain that the threshold for couples is £3 million. More importantly still, for true family farms—those that we wish to protect—where at least two generations are working side by side in partnership, they can share not just the workload but their assets by planning their financial future. That is manageable. What is not manageable is those farmers’ overriding concern about the ever-declining profits in food production in our country. That is their No. 1 concern, and ours.

On every farm that I visit—I am sure that it is the same at every farm that hon. Members visit, whether arable or livestock—what comes up is the way that low product values, coupled with higher overheads, threaten not just farmers but all the supply chains that hold together the fabric of our rural communities, to whom we owe so much. I was therefore pleased to be able to remind farmers in my area that our Budget announcement —not much press coverage was given to it—delivered the greatest agricultural investment in our country’s history: £5 billion over two years. By the way, the fact that the commitment is over two years is welcomed by our farmers, who can finally plan, with security and stability, more than one season ahead. Given the awful conditions that they have endured over the last few years, that immediate injection of funding and certainty is very welcome. Let us not forget that it was the main ask of the National Farmers Union in the weeks and months leading up to our Budget; we have delivered on its No. 1 request.

However, what most pleased farmers—they were surprised to hear it—was our long-term plan in the new deal for farmers, through which we will protect farmers from being undercut, through trade deals, by those low welfare standards. We will also sign the all-important new veterinary agreement with the EU to cut red tape at our borders and get British food exports moving again.

[Sir Gavin Williamson (Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge) (Con)]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Julia Buckley]

I am sorry, but I need to rush.

Labour’s flagship policy, of which we are all so truly proud, is that we will underpin British farming with long-term sustainable contracts, by directing public procurement towards British suppliers. We will use the Government’s purchasing power to back British produce; 50% of food bought in every hospital, army base and prison will be locally sourced or certified to high economic standards. These are catering contracts that the Government are already funding. Now, thanks to our Labour Government, all that investment will benefit our local farmers directly, and for the long term. Every farmer I have spoken to is delighted to hear that we have understood that the problem is the long-term profitability of farming, and that the Government are prepared to put their money where their mouth is to protect British farmers.