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Which Welsh MPs voted to dump raw sewage in rivers?

25 Oct 2021 3 minute read
Stephen Crabb, Virginia Crosbie, and David Jones. Pictures by Richard Townshend (CC BY 3.0).

A number of MPs in Welsh constituencies voted to dump raw sewage in rivers.

The 10 Members of Parliament, all from the Conservative Party, voted against an amendment to the Environment Bill that would have forced water companies to reduce their discharge of effluent into rivers and seas.

The amendment was voted down by 268 MPs to 204. Just 22 Conservatives rebelled against the UK Government in Westminster, but none of them were from Wales.

As is currently stands, the Bill, intended to revamp environmental regulations post Brexit, currently allows raw sewage to be discharged into waterways. This has been put down as a response to a shortage of chemicals that has been linked to leaving the EU.

The Tory MPs who voted to dump raw sewage in rivers are:

  • Alun Cairns, the MP for the Vale of Glamorgan and former Welsh Secretary (Conservative)
  • Stephen Crabb, the MP for Preseli Pembrokeshire, and Chair of the Welsh Affairs Committee (Conservative)
  • Virginia Crosbie, the MP for Ynys Môn, Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) at the Welsh Office (Conservative)
  • David TC Davies, the MP for Monmouth, and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Wales Office (Conservative)
  • James Davies, the MP for the Vale of Clwyd (Conservative)
  • David Jones, the MP for Clwyd West (Conservative)
  • Robin Millar, the MP for Aberconwy (Conservative)
  • Craig Williams, the MP for Montgomeryshire (Conservative)
  • Jamie Wallis, the MP Bridgend (Conservative)
  • Simon Baynes, the MP for Clwyd South (Conservative)

Other Conservative MPs from Wales did not register a vote. They are:

  • Fay Jones, the MP for Brecon and Radnorshire (Conservative)
  • Sarah Atherton, the MP for Wrexham (Conservative)
  • Simon Hart, the Welsh Secretary and MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire (Conservative)

‘Voted against dumping raw sewage in rivers’ 

Here is a list of MPs from Wales who voted against dumping raw sewage in rivers:

  • Tonia Antoniazzi, the MP for Gower (Labour)
  • Chris Bryant, the MP for Rhondda (Labour)
  • Liz Saville Roberts, the MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Plaid Cymru)
  • Wayne David, the MP for Caerphilly (Labour)
  • Stephen Doughty, the MP for Cardiff South and Penarth (Labour)
  • Chris Elmore, the MP for Ogmore (Labour)
  • Chris Evans, the MP for Islwyn (Labour)
  • Nia Griffith, the MP for Llanelli (Labour)
  • Carolyn Harris, the MP for Swansea East (Labour)
  • Gerald Jones, the MP for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney (Labour)
  • Ruth Jones, the MP for Newport West (Labour)
  • Stephen Kinnock, the MP for Aberavon (Labour)
  • Ben Lake, the MP for Ceredigion (Plaid Cymru)
  • Anna McMorrin, the MP for Cardiff North (Labour)
  • Jessica Morden, the MP for Newport East (Labour)
  • Christina Rees, the MP for Neath (Labour)
  • Nick Smith, the MP for Blaenau Gwent (Labour)
  • Jo Stevens, the MP for Cardiff Central (Labour)
  • Mark Tami, the MP for Alyn and Deeside (Labour)
  • Nick Thomas-Symonds, the MP for Torfaen (Labour)
  • Beth Winter, the MP for Cynon Valley (Labour)

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Ed Jones
Ed Jones
2 years ago

Robin Millar? Well, of course… What on earth has Aberconwy done to deserve him?! A man with no connection whatsoever to where I live. The sooner he clears off, the better – Lib Dem’s and Plaid need to stand aside and allow Labour a clear run to defeat him (not easy for a Plaid voter to write, but we must be pragmatic!).

Jon
Jon
2 years ago
Reply to  Ed Jones

I am with you Ed, and tactical voting, especially with the parties being pragmatic too is the only way forward!

Mr Williams
Mr Williams
2 years ago
Reply to  Ed Jones

Agreed. This is my home territory as well. Aberconwy, Clwyd West and Vale of Clwyd are all seats where a ‘progressive alliance’ would work to kick out the Tories. Come on Labour, Plaid and Lib Dems, sort this out, please!

Hogyn y Gogledd
Hogyn y Gogledd
2 years ago

Sadly, Clwyd South also has a tory MP at the moment.

He invariably votes as he is told.

Ap Kenneth
Ap Kenneth
2 years ago

Simon Baynes (Conservative – Clwyd South) also voted to allow water companies to dump sewage and not to decrease discharges. He seems to be a yes man with no integrity or thought except to follow the party unquestionably. Bit like free school meals situation last year.

Tabor
Tabor
2 years ago

Absolutely disgrace in this day clean our waterways make the investment for our children and their children

Cai Wogan Jones
Cai Wogan Jones
2 years ago

This is horrific. Labour and Plaid really need to jump on the nuclear mud issue and the raw sewage issue. Otherwise, I am going to start voting green.

Gareth
Gareth
2 years ago

Why am I not surprised, that not a single Tory name is on the list of people who voted against dumping raw sewage into the environment. Given a choice, of voting for the peoples health, or voting to make life easy for big business, they will chose business over the welfare of constituents every time. I hope they all choke on the stuff they want dumped in our rivers.

David Charles Pearn
David Charles Pearn
2 years ago
Reply to  Gareth

The tories really are a horrible party, don’t upset Doris money money money it’s ingrained into them.keep the CEO,s happy.

ArgolFawr
ArgolFawr
2 years ago

The tories are the CEO’s. They operate with an overriding agenda to avoid paying higher rate tax and ‘nudge’ publc contracts toward their mates.

ArgolFawr
ArgolFawr
2 years ago

Very newsworthy but so, so, unsurprising. These bunch of tories are no more than conservative party bots. They know its the result of Brexit and their government incompetencies. It’s not even as if the water companies are in compliance with the existing standard! I never considered the film title ‘How green was my valley’ could refer to our lakes and rivers rivers.

Eifion
Eifion
2 years ago
Reply to  ArgolFawr

Dach chi yn iawn argol fawr peryg y bydd arogl Mawr rwan

Jon
Jon
2 years ago

I really don’t understand how the Tories are still in existence, how many generations have they shafted, how many times have the let Wales down. Gobsmacked tbh

David Charles Pearn
David Charles Pearn
2 years ago
Reply to  Jon

Time for Wales to leave westmonster 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿.

Gareth Wyn Jones
Gareth Wyn Jones
2 years ago

Westmonster the mother****** of all parliaments

Gareth Wyn Jones
Gareth Wyn Jones
2 years ago
Reply to  Jon

Wales it there to be exploited by the tories. Always has been. Period

Y Cymro
Y Cymro
2 years ago

Credit to the MPs who voted against this reckless act. Shame on the lazy few who couldn’t be bothered to vote. And the ones who happily agreed to pollute our rivers. You vulgar environmental terrorists and life’s losers.

hdavies15
hdavies15
2 years ago

Tories vote to pollute rivers even more than currently happens. Yet Johnson is spouting all sorts of daft green gospel garbage in anticipation of the Cop26 event. All politicians should pause then address the need to shift towards the green goals in a more practical and, dare I say it, sustainable fashion. Grasping any old fashionable line of thinking doesn’t cut it.

Tipping raw sh*t into rivers is stepping back 100 years not moving forward towards any kind of civilized outcome. Just another example of the duplicious nature of Westminster politicians.

Steve Duggan
Steve Duggan
2 years ago

Another example of why we need independence quickly. The Tories do not give a sh*t about Wales and I’m so surprised areas of our country keep voting them in. Imagine what we could do in our country without the control that party as on us from Westminster, we could finally drag our society out of poverty. We will gain independence and I’m excited by that.

David Charles Pearn
David Charles Pearn
2 years ago
Reply to  Steve Duggan

100% Steve 👍.

j humphrys
j humphrys
2 years ago

We may be on the cusp of that, and hurry the day that we are able to even TRY to build a decent society! And when we do, let everyone contribute, great or small?

Last edited 2 years ago by j humphrys
Sarah Curteis
Sarah Curteis
2 years ago

SarahSea

Sarah Curteis
Sarah Curteis
2 years ago

Personally, I have been waiting years for a government brave enough to increase the amount of untreated faeces on the beaches I walk on daily and the sea I bathe in and/or take children and my dog to paddle in on nice days.

Bravo.

Yours, Disgusted of Barry Island
aka Sarah Curteis

Sarah Curteis
Sarah Curteis
2 years ago

Bloody hell, third try!

Dear Alun Cairns,

Thank you very much for representing my interests – and those of the other residents of Barry Island, the Knap, Porthkerry, basically the entire coast of your constituency – by voting against the amendment in the Environment Bill recently.

Personally, I have been waiting years for a government brave enough to increase the amount of untreated faeces on the beaches I walk on daily and the sea I bathe in and/or take children and my dog to paddle in on nice days.

Bravo.

Yours, Disgusted of Barry Island
aka Sarah Curteis

Twm Teth
2 years ago

The sh:t is slowly hitting the fan for the tories, let them flow out of Wales on a tide of their own excrement sooner the better.
Does anyone in Westminster have a substantial stake in any uk water companies (Just a thought)

Mr Williams
Mr Williams
2 years ago

The Conservative Party is a disgrace.

Hannergylch
Hannergylch
2 years ago

Something is very wrong when a purely technical matter splits MPs EXACTLY on party lines.

In the set of 31 non-abstaining Welsh MPs, there’s a 10/31 chance of being a Conservative, and a 10/31 chance of voting against. So, in a purely technocratic vote, there’s a 10.41% chance of any voting MP being a Conservative who votes against. But 32.26% of votes from this set were Conservative nays. Mathematics trumps politics, and this doesn’t add up!

Erisian
Erisian
2 years ago

Apparently all the damn Conservative and Unionists are all publishing Indentical rebuttals to criticism. So we can blame the Buffoon in Chief (Priftwllarse) for this .

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/25/sewage-vote-outcry-prompts-tory-mps-to-defend-decision-on-social-media

Gareth
Gareth
2 years ago
Reply to  Erisian

Thank you for the article, the interesting part is the UK Gov state, it would be impossible for any Gov to spend between £150 and 600 billion to replace the sewage system. But spending £110 billion on a railway line, to cut a journey time to London by a few minutes is possible, and is a work in progress.

Llywelyn ein Llyw Nesaf
Llywelyn ein Llyw Nesaf
2 years ago
Reply to  Gareth

And the bit about “replacing the entire sewage system” is complete BS anyway. What is needed is to identify those points where there is insufficient capacity to store waste, and increase that capacity.

j humphrys
j humphrys
2 years ago

They built the Wrecsam prison, in my opinion, due to the proximity of the local sewage treament plant, a short walk away?

Llywelyn ein Llyw Nesaf
Llywelyn ein Llyw Nesaf
2 years ago

And 3 MPs couldn’t be arsed to vote on something like this? Or couldn’t make up their minds?

Daf
Daf
2 years ago

” In their 2019 manifesto, the Conservatives promised to be a global environmental leader and undertook not to weaken national standards after Brexit.”
As far as the Welsh Tories are concerned environmental standards can go down the toilet…

Grayham Jones
2 years ago

It’s time for a new wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 kick all English party’s out of wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 start fighting for your children and grandchildren future in wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 we in wales have got to stop being little Englanders and be proud to be welsh get the people in your town’s out voting for new wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Ifor Gwyn
Ifor Gwyn
2 years ago

Lle mae Hywel Williams MP?

Gareth Wyn Jones
Gareth Wyn Jones
2 years ago

We need to be looking at ways to remove these tories out of our communities in the next election, they are subservient to the extreme English nationalists that misrule our country. I’m plaid, if voting Labour needs to be done to get rid of these ‘stinkers’ so be it, Labour or Lib Dems must do the same. Does not have to be a formal pact

Tim Grayson
Tim Grayson
2 years ago

He’s probably got shares in the water companies.
He can’t bite the hand that feeds him.

Tracy Tanner
Tracy Tanner
2 years ago

No mention of Rob Roberts (MP Delyn) either? I assume He was a “Yes” ?🤔. Tx

Lynda Hamlett
Lynda Hamlett
2 years ago

I am horrified that anybody thinks it’s ok to dump sewage in our rivers and seas, what kind of society would want to turn the clock back to pre Victorian times with all the diseases that come from raw sewage. shame on the MPs that voted for this.

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