‘Satirical’ blue plaques highlighting Conservative MPs in the Bristol area and the decision to allow water companies to release raw sewage into rivers and the sea have been fixed to prominent landmarks in the city.
The action this morning (Saturday) was carried out by Extinction Rebellion activists, who joined with wild swimmers and health professionals for the stunt.
Plaques have been fixed at various spots around the Floating Harbour, and in Keynsham and on the River Frome in South Gloucestershire. At the Conham River Park near Hanham, one of the activists dressed as North East Somerset MP Jacob Rees-Mogg for the occasion, and was accompanied by a samba band.
Read next: Conham's wild swimmers vow to keep fighting despite being 'ignored' by mayor
Environmental campaigners said they were undertaking the action to highlight the ‘shocking state of our waterways’, which have seen thousands of instances of raw sewage being discharged or released into rivers, streams and the sea.
The issue has been a controversial one in Bristol, where wild swimmers have tried and so far failed to persuade the Mayor of Bristol and Bristol City Council to back their bid to get the River Avon there declared a special swimming area - but that would mean tighter restrictions on Wessex Water releasing sewage into the river further upstream in Keynsham and Saltford.
The plaques refer to a 2021 vote where the Government loosed the regulations for water companies, allowing them to continue to discharging sewage into the rivers. In Bristol city itself, where the four Labour MPs voted for tightening environmental regulations, the plaques simply referenced ‘the UK Government’, but in South Gloucestershire they called out Luke Hall MP, and in Keynsham, their named the North East Somerset MP Jacob Rees-Mogg.
The stunt was part of a nationwide campaign with thousands of blue plaques being placed along rivers and on the coasts of the UK. “The plaque references a vote in October 2021 where Jacob Rees Mogg, Luke Hall and 265 other Conservative Members of Parliament voted down an amendment that would have required water companies to “demonstrate improvements in the sewage systems and progressive reductions in the harm caused by untreated sewage discharges',” said a spokesperson for the new ‘Dirty Water Bristol’ campaign, Daniel Juniper.
“The Dirty Water Bristol campaign targets Jacob Rees-Mogg and Luke Hall because most Bristol MPs voted to protect our rivers but these MPs who represent constituencies with rivers that ultimately flow through Bristol decided to let water companies off the hook,” he added.
The 27-year-old activist from Bedminster added: “We’ve watched in horror as our rivers and seas have become open sewers since October 2021, when the government voted down a proposal to stop water companies pumping waste directly into our rivers and seas.
“They justified this by claiming that the proposal was too expensive. These plaques shine a light on the Government’s failure to protect our waterways, the natural world, and all of us.
“The government’s failure to properly tackle the issue of sewage pollution has been hugely controversial. Last summer over a hundred beaches were closed to the public after a series of sewage discharges by water companies left the sand and sea contaminated with human sewage,” he said.
It's not the first time the issue of sewage discharge in rivers has been linked to Jacob Rees-Mogg through the protest medium of a blue plaque - one was affixed to the Somer Centre in Midsomer Norton in October.
Read next:
- Surfers Against Sewage warn of storm discharges into rivers in Bristol and Bath
- Jacob Rees-Mogg slammed by campaign group over claims MP voted 'in support of raw sewage'
- Bristol doctor and XR protester acquitted in court after blocking Lambeth Bridge
Get the best stories about the things you love most curated by us and delivered to your inbox every day. Choose what you love here.
