A popstar turned environmental campaigner was in Kent today to “talk about poo”.
Feargal Sharkey, who sang in the punk band The Undertones, launched an attack on water company Southern Water during his visit to Folkestone today (June 15).
He said he believed water companies had been “out of control” for decades, adding: “Even in this constituency in and around Folkestone, last year Southern Water spent nearly 4,000 hours dumping sewage into the environment.
“Over the last four years throughout the whole service area, over 800,000 hours of sewage and that is just one company.”
The punk icon, who has long called for greater regulation of water companies, made the comments while campaigning with the Labour party in Folkestone today.
He went on to add: “I have ended up devoting the last four or five years of my life to a cause I didn’t even know existed and I’m still flummoxed and amused sometimes about the mere fact I’ve ended up coming to Kent – in deepest, darkest Folkestone – to talk about poo.
“We have paid water companies to do a job. They’ve taken our money; water companies have paid themselves nearly £72 billion in dividends.
“That was our money – money we should have used to fix the sewage system.”
In response, Southern Water has said it has “paid no external dividends to shareholders since 2017” and replied that “every penny goes back into the business to help improve performance”.
The company also added that it understood customers’ concerns about storm overflows but said “claims our communities have paid twice to tackle this issue are not true”.
Back in September last year, the water company vowed to cut sewage spills by 20%.
It also said its investment in a wastewater treatment works in Kent should reduce sewage overflows after storms by up to 20%.
In 2021, the company was fined a record £90m for deliberately dumping billions of litres of raw sewage into the sea.
In November, Southern Water announced £1.5 billion investment to get to the “root cause” of sewage spills into seas and rivers.
Speaking today, Mr Sharkey also said that London, Kent and the southeast of England were now on the verge of running out of drinking water, according to the National Infrastructure commission, and said “it’s going to take 60 billion quid just to fix that”.
The passionate campaigner added: “It’s got to stop and I for one am no longer prepared for that to happen.
“People are absolutely furious that this was ever allowed to happen.
“All that needs to happen is the water companies comply with the law – the laws are there, all of the systems are there, all the regulations are there.”
A spokesperson for Southern Water said: “Southern Water has paid no external dividends to shareholders since 2017, which means that every penny goes back into the business to help improve our performance.
“In fact, our shareholders have put £1.6bn into the business, which has enabled us to spend £3bn between 2020 and 2025 – or £1,500 per household.
“We understand our customers’ concerns about storm overflows, and agree that this historic system is not acceptable.
“However, claims that our communities have paid twice to tackle this issue are not true.
“We are now embarking on a major investment programme into new and innovative approaches to cutting their use – these engineering and nature-based solutions have not been paid for before now by bill payers.”
The full list of candidates standing for the Folkestone & Hythe seat are:
Tony Vaughan, Labour
Damian Collins – Conservative Party
Marianne Brett – Green Party
Bill Wright – Reform UK
Larry Ngan – Liberal Democrats
Momtaz Khanom – Trade Union Socialist Coalition
David Allen – Fair Voting Party
Andy Thomas, The Socialist Party of Great Britain
