Voters back i’s Save Britain’s Rivers manifesto, pressuring Labour and Tories

Britain’s political parties should back the i manifesto to Save Britain’s Rivers, most voters believe with all the policies in the campaign strongly supported by the public.

At least 60 per cent of voters back each of the five policies contained in the manifesto, which has been endorsed by the Liberal Democrats and Greens but not yet by either of the two largest parties. Keir Starmer has praised the campaign, although stopped short of full backing.

The findings come from a survey carried out for i by BMG Research this week, with only a matter of days to go before the general election.

The most popular policy is for the UK Government to prosecute water companies which allow untreated sewage to be pumped into high-priority areas such as chalk streams and bathing sites, backed by 85 per cent of voters and opposed by only 3 per cent.

81 per cent support the idea of giving the regulator Ofwat the power to restrict water bosses’ bonuses and prosecute firms, which it currently cannot do; 4 per cent are against the policy.

Exactly three quarters of voters say that the Environment Agency should have greater funding to enforce existing laws on how to improve the diversity of wildlife and plants in rivers, compared to 5 per cent who disagree.

A similar proportion – 78 per cent – say they endorse a policy to give farmers grants, support and advice to help them understand how to protect water quality.

And even the most divisive policy, investing in setting up 100 “clean bathing spots” in England’s rivers over the next five years, is backed by 60 per cent of the public with 9 per cent opposed.

BMG said: “While it is important to bear in mind the cost of the policies in the rivers manifesto, the data shows that the next government would have reasonable support in raising the funding for these policies.

“The public are more likely to support the Government spending more on public services even if this means raising taxes or borrowing more (38 per cent), than they are to support cutting taxes and reducing borrowing at the cost of public services (28 per cent).”

All parties have promised they will take action to keep rivers clean, including by cracking down on water firms which discharge sewage unnecessarily.

Labour has previously said it would “put the water companies under special measures” with tougher rules around fining firms who pollute rivers.

The party has said bosses who oversee repeated law-breaking will face criminal charges under their plans.

The Lib Dems have promised to “have the most ambitious manifesto of any political party on cleaning up our rivers and coastlines”.

The Conservative Government previously said its plan to tackle water pollution would include introducing unlimited fines for companies.

Fines from water companies caught breaking sewage rules will then be re-invested into a new Water Restoration Fund which would improve water quality.

The Government has warned that long-term upgrades to infrastructure will be needed to end sewage overflows entirely, because at times of heavy rainfall companies must choose between pumping wastewater into rivers, seas or lakes, or risking backed-up drains.

The new poll found that that the Greens are most trusted to “keep lakes and rivers clean”, with 33 per cent naming the party as their top pick on the issue. 20 per cent said Labour would be best for water health and 10 per cent chose the Conservatives.

Labour were the most trusted on every measure, including taxation and pensions, despite being attacked by the Conservatives over not being clear about their plans.

The Lib Dems and Reform are considered to have had the best campaign so far, with the number of voters thinking the Lib Dem campaign was going well increasing from 19 per cent in the second week of the campaign to 28 per cent. Reform’s going well rating rose from 21 per cent to 32 percent.

The Tory campaign was rated as going well by just 17 per cent in week two, with 40 per cent believing it was going badly. This latter figure has now risen to 54 per cent, a rise of 14 per cent of voters who believe their campaign has gone badly, with just 16 per cent believing it had gone well, a drop of one per cent.

Labour’s campaign performance was judged as going well by an extra seven per cent of people, rising from 37 per cent to 44 per cent, with 19 per cent thinking it had gone badly.

The poll also found Rishi Sunak’s leadership ratings have fallen over the campaign – with 21 per cent satisfied in May after the election was called, falling to 18 per cent this week.

Starmer’s ratings have remained steady at 33 per cent – but this is a fall of two per cent from last week.

BMG Research interviewed a representative sample of 1,522 GB adults online between 24-26 June 2024. BMG are members of the British Polling Council and abide by their rules.