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Westminster should debate Welsh water ‘because it does not respect England and Wales border’ says Tory MP

25 Feb 2022 3 minute read
Craig Williams. Photo by David Woolfall (CC BY 3.0). Right, the Elan Valley dam. Picture by Kevinsphotos.

A Conservative MP has called for a Westminster debate on the management of Welsh water “because it does not respect the border between England and Wales”.

The responsibility for managing waterways in Wales rests with the Welsh Government and its sponsored body Natural Resources Wales.

However, Montgomeryshire MP Craig Williams MP said that the matter should be debated in the House of Commons after flooding following storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin.

He said that the UK Government’s Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Rebecca Pow, had already visited his constituency to see the Clywedog reservoir.

“I am unhappy to report to the House that the River Vyrnwy and then the River Severn hit record, historic peaks,” Craig Williams said.

“Will the Leader of the House facilitate a debate on cross-border water policy? Most water does not respect the border between England and Wales, and the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales must work together on flood prevention as well as drought prevention.”

The Leader of the House of Commons Mark Spencer replied that it was “vital that colleagues in the Welsh Assembly co-operate with the Environment Agency and our friends in DEFRA”.

“My honourable Friend is an assiduous campaigner on this matter and I am sure he will find a way to raise it in the House regularly,” he said, adding that he was “right to highlight the necessity of cross-border co-operation”.

‘Deplorable’

Management of Wales’ water has been a contentious political issue, with politicians in Wales arguing that a number of contentious reservoirs have been created in Wales to supply England with drinking water, at the expense of those communities but with little financial gain.

The drowning of Cwm Celyn in the 60’s to create the Tryweryn reservoir gave rise to the political slogan ‘Cofiwch Dryweryn’.

But Conservative MPs have been vocal in the last few months on the need to work cross border to manage Wales and England’s waterways.

David Davies, Conservative Monmouth MP, claimed in December that devolved matters overseen by the Senedd were making it harder to find a solution to river pollution.

“Devolution is making matters more complicated, especially when you have a river such as the Wye forming part of the border between England and Wales,” he said.

Hereford and South Herefordshire MP Jesse Norman also said officials’ failure to work together on the River Wye, which runs through Wales and England and forms the boundary between them for many miles, was “deplorable”.

“Part of the problem is the Wye runs across the English-Welsh border,” he said.

“The agencies involved – Natural Resources Wales, Natural England and the Environment Agency – have done a deplorable job so far in their failure to come together with a single all-river action plan.”


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Cynan
Cynan
2 years ago

Funnily enough it is Severn Trent with the worse record for pollution and flooding incidents BY FAR.
So what the EngNats are whining about is that they want DCWW to bear the burden that ST is failing with. DCWW already looks after Hereford for them. About time England stood on its own two feet

Kerry Davies
Kerry Davies
2 years ago
Reply to  Cynan

The Wye is a Tory river from source to sea. Every single constituency MP along the river voted to allow the dumping of sewage into it so perhaps they need to consider their personal responsibilities?

hdavies15
hdavies15
2 years ago
Reply to  Kerry Davies

Our water, their effluent. Fair enough. Tories are full of s**t anyway.

Mab Meirion
Mab Meirion
2 years ago

Are we not putting enough ‘effluent’ into Welsh rivers?

Cynan
Cynan
2 years ago
Reply to  Mab Meirion

Indeed. Our water is obviously too clean for the Saes

Grayham Jones
2 years ago

This Tories idiot the English government have robbed wales of the coal and now the welsh water it’s time for a new wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Carol Loughlin
Carol Loughlin
2 years ago
Reply to  Grayham Jones

*Wales

Richard
Richard
2 years ago
Reply to  Carol Loughlin

Cymru

Mark
Mark
2 years ago

See the Severn trent ad on tv last night, declaring “their” water the best there is, not a mention of the millions of gallons they take from Wales on the cheap. And they still push the bs that reservoirs are dangerous places to swim.

I.Humphrys
I.Humphrys
2 years ago
Reply to  Mark

Ducks crap in them, though. Time our kids used them for Finn Class sailing?

Last edited 2 years ago by I.Humphrys
Gareth
Gareth
2 years ago

He is worried about drought prevention. Cymru has not got a problem with droughts, so we do not need to waste money by spending on drought prevention, we should leave that to those over the border to fund, if they have a problem, they can fix it. That seem to be their attitude to our problem with old coal tips.

Quornby
Quornby
2 years ago
Reply to  Gareth

Yep they could use our stolen HST2 consequentials to fund it.

Mapp
Mapp
2 years ago

If they paid the same water rates in England as In wales welsh water would be able to make improvements

Rhosddu
Rhosddu
2 years ago

“Welsh Assembly”?

I.Humphrys
I.Humphrys
2 years ago
Reply to  Rhosddu

Senedd, yes!

Wrexhamian
Wrexhamian
2 years ago
Reply to  I.Humphrys

Someone needs to remind the man Spencer of that basic fact. My guess: He said it deliberately.

Quornby
Quornby
2 years ago

A pity this arse isn’t the other side of the border.

Marc
Marc
2 years ago

I look forward to the day an independent Wales will profit from the sale of our natural resources

Ieuan Evans
Ieuan Evans
2 years ago

What a clown.

Quornby
Quornby
2 years ago

It’s odd that all these Tory mugshots reinforce belief in extra terrestrial life. Not intelligence just life.

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