Drought Conditions: England

Debate between Lizzi Collinge and Emma Hardy

Friday 16th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Emma Hardy]

I absolutely hear how angry and disappointed the hon. Gentleman is with the efforts and attainment of his water company. As I have said, water companies are putting more into leakage, but he is right to hold them to account and ensure that they deliver further and faster for his residents. I support him wholeheartedly in doing that. As the Prime Minister has said, this Government will be relentless in giving people and places what they were promised 10 years ago, which is ownership and control. As he said, people were sold the message of taking back control by the very people who gave away everything that was previously owned by the public. This Government are struggling to reverse the legacy of the 1980s, but we are determined to do that, and for our water Bill to right the wrongs that were delivered through Thatcher and the Conservative party.

[Lizzi Collinge (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Lab)]

Not many people know that the Westmorland part of my constituency includes part of the Yorkshire Dales national park, so to see our neighbours in Yorkshire going into drought, and a lot of the rest of the country in severe drought, is very worrying. I welcome the statement about protecting public water supplies. Does the Minister share my disappointment that we continue to see in this House arguments against tackling climate change, which is fundamentally the cause of the drought?

[Emma Hardy]

I could not agree more with my hon. Friend, and it is frankly astonishing when we are seeing the impact of climate change with our own eyes. It is there in front of us. We have had the driest summer in over a century, yet still some people think that climate change is not real. We are going into an El Niño year where there is a higher risk of flooding. We have already talked about the whiplash weather we are experiencing, and I find it unbelievable that people do not think that climate change is a real thing, or that we should be taking action on it. We absolutely need to because it is impacting every one of our constituents in every part of their daily lives. It would frankly be a dereliction of duty if we did not take it seriously, and I am pleased that—thank goodness!—we have a Government who are not a Government of climate deniers, unlike many of the Opposition parties.

Illegal Waste: Organised Crime

Debate between Lizzi Collinge and Emma Hardy

Monday 17th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Emma Hardy]

The hon. Gentleman is right to mention the issue he is having in his constituency and, of course, the need for more powers. He also requests more funding, which is why I am sure he will be supporting our Budget next week.

[Lizzi Collinge (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Lab)]

My constituents are quite rightly appalled by fly-tipping. It is a particular problem in the west end of Morecambe, but it also affects the beautiful countryside in my area. What action are the Government taking to tackle this appalling crime?

[Emma Hardy]

Fly-tipping is a serious crime. It blights local communities. It blights both our beautiful countryside and, as we have heard, our urban environments. Dealing with it costs taxpayers and businesses a huge amount of money. We are supporting councils to seize and crush the vehicles of fly-tippers, forcing fly-tippers to clear up their own mess and taking steps to provide statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance to help councils to make full and proper use of their enforcement powers.