Jacob Rees-Mogg has been ‘awarded’ a satirical blue plaque for his contribution towards Britain’s waterways. If you think his politics stinks more than the sewage which is now being regularly dumped into our rivers, you’d be correct:
Blue-plaque wanker
Protesters fighting against raw sewage have installed satirical blue plaques around Bristol, Bath, North East Somerset, and South Gloucestershire. Their aim is to highlight what they’ve described as the “shocking state of our waterways”. The people fighting the Tories’ befoulment of Britain under the Dirty Water Bristol banner include Extinction Rebellion, local health professionals, a group of cold water synchronised swimmers, and one very good dog:
Their theatrical blue plaque unveiling took place in Conham River Park as part of a national day of action across the UK. Highlighting what the group describes as “the government’s continued failure to tighten environmental regulations and stop profit-grabbing water companies”, the plaque reads:
Jacob Rees-Mogg / Luke Hall MP / The UK Government
Voted to block a law
requiring water companies
to dump less raw sewage
in our waterways and seas
20.10.21
The plaque references the 2021 vote when 267 Tory sewage-mongers voted down an amendment which would have required water companies to “demonstrate improvements in the sewage systems and progressive reductions in the harm caused by untreated sewage discharge”. According to Extinction Rebellion Bristol, things are only going to get worse:
Can anyone else see a pattern emerging here?
👁️ Water is NOT a commodity to be exploited. We are watching you.
🌊 DIRTY WATER WAVE ONE HAS BEGUN.
Want to know more? Join the campaign here:https://t.co/cpDCqA9hHZ
#DirtyWater#VoteCleanWater#ExtinctionRebellion#21April pic.twitter.com/7nL5lbckrI— Extinction Rebellion Bristol (@XRBristol) January 29, 2023
The movement is attracting attention online:
If your local MP complains about their blue plaque remind them of this.
Gov MPs voted to legalise the dumping of sewage into the environment; something that had been illegal since 1991.
Did they not understand that or hadn't the Whips Office explained it to them? https://t.co/dZBxzyadWI
— Feargal Sharkey (@Feargal_Sharkey) January 29, 2023
Among those interested are people wanting to install blue plaques of their own:
You can join the Dirty Water campaign here: https://t.co/cpDCqA9hHZ
— Extinction Rebellion Bristol (@XRBristol) January 29, 2023
Literal Tory filth
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.
It’s disgusting, literally, to think what’s being pumped into our rivers. The government and the water companies aren’t going to clean up unless ordinary people put pressure on them. Extinction Rebellion can’t do this alone. We need everyone who cares about our rivers and seas to stand up with us and speak out. Today is just the first part of a bigger campaign to protect nature and our waterways. More actions will be taking place over the coming months.
The “human sewage” party
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.
Meanwhile, only 14% of the UK’s rivers achieve “good” ecological status with pollution from agriculture, human sewage, roads, and single-used plastics creating a dangerous “chemical cocktail” in our waterways. In December, the Environment Agency announced it was pushing back targets to clean up England’s rivers, lakes and coastal waters from 2027 to 2063, prompting outcry.
Dirty Water Bristol is looking for people to join them at their website. If you also stand in opposition to this literal manifestation of Tory filth, you should consider signing up.
Featured image and additional images via Dirty Water Bristol
