Over the last six months, I’ve been campaigning with others against the amount of raw sewage that is dumped into the Exe every year.

People in Exeter love the outdoors – we’re blessed with green hills around our city, and easy access to beautiful landscapes on Dartmoor and on the coast. Every day, people sail, row, and paddle along the Exe.

But, according to the Environment Agency, in 2022 raw sewage was pumped into the Exe from sewage outflows for a full 1,219 hours non-stop – equivalent to over 50 days. Meanwhile, the Conservative government has voted against efforts to force water companies to clean up their act – after loosening controls and cutting spending over the past 13 years.

In response, I’ve spoken at a panel in Exeter on water health, I’ve raised the issue with a news story on DevonLive, I signed a joint letter on water quality led by water campaigner Feargal Sharkey, and I spoke to Jim McMahon MP, Labour’s Shadow Environment Secretary about what we can do together to improve water quality of the Exe and all our rivers in Devon.

Now we need to show how much people in Exeter care about our environment. We’re launching a petition that we will take to No. 10 and to South West Water- and we need you to sign up and share it with your friends and neighbours.

Only by showing how much we all care about our rivers and waterways will we force change, so please sign this petition to help end the Tory Sewage Scandal by calling on the government to introduce:

• Mandatory monitoring of all sewage outlets
• Automatic fines for sewage dumping
• Legally binding targets to reduces sewage dumping
• A statutory sewage reduction strategy with regular economic impact assessments

Please sign up today so we can show how much Exeter people care about improving the quality of our water and our environment.

Thank you for your support,

Steve Race
Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Exeter