Mick Hucknall has called out Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party over environmental policy which has seen a river declared “ecologically dead” as a result of dumping sewage into UK waters.
The River Lim in Dorset has been described as essentially dead by locals and conservationists after reports of a thick “layer of brown sludge” and tests by the likes of the River Trust found “shocking” levels of E.coli, with a freshwater ecologist confirming that it now contains “barely any” invertebrates.
As per The Times, the bottom of the food chain has effectively been cut off meaning that larger species will simply be unable to survive along the waterway, with yellow warning signs now put up warning the public to keep of out the water which is now full of human waste for the nearby SWW treatment centre.
With environmental activist group Greenpeace reacting to the grim news, adding that the levels of sewage flowing into River Lim have tripled in 2022 compared to the previous year, many online have been deeply troubled by the information — one of those being Mick Hucknall. He only had this to say:
Mick Hucknall not wasting a syllable in telling Rishi Sunak what he thinks of him and the ‘Tory Sewage Party‘
The Manchester-born musician and Simply Red frontman summed up his thoughts rather succinctly, holding Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives responsible for the deeply concerning increase in sewage dumping throughout Britain’s various seas, rivers, canals and other bodies of water.
In the instance of the Lim, sewage was dumped into the river for more than 2,200 hours last year alone and the levels at which waste, treated or not, is seeping into British waterways are getting increasingly worse year on year. It is estimated that since 2016, sewage has been discharged every two-and-a-half minutes, with 1,276 years’ worth of raw waste dumped into our waters over the last seven years. Awful.
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Quoting Environment Agency figures, research by the University of Manchester revealed that “sewage pollution incidents – many of which were legal – have increased 29-fold over five years and countless urban rivers are now effectively extensions of the sewerage network.” Moreover, there seems to be little interest in combatting pollution as water companies are simply making too much money from it.
In the grand scheme of things, it is now said that only 14% of rivers in England have “good” ecological status and this figure is expected to fall to just 6% by 2027.
While Labour are still pushing for a Water Quality Bill to put an end to the rampant sewage dumping once and for all, Tories voted against it, with current Environment Secretary Therese Coffey calling the motion “pointless” and “ill-considered”, insisting that the part has a “credible plan” to tackle pollution.
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Nevertheless, the ‘Tory Sewage Scandal’ is not going ignored and many have been campaigning for proper accountability for years now. When Liz Truss was the minister in charge, she oversaw £235 million incuts to environmental funding and in 2021, levels rose to their worst since 2013. She went on to become Prime Minister…
The most concerning part is that this doesn’t just stop with the Lim and Dorset: given the excessive levels of sewage being dumped into rivers all around the UK, it won’t be long before more fall victim to a growing ecological crisis.
Featured Image — Simply Red (via Instagram)/Greenpeace UK/Wikimedia Commons
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No trams to run on three major Greater Manchester lines this Easter bank holiday weekend
Emily Sergeant
People are being urged to ‘plan ahead’ as no trams are set to run on three major Greater Manchester Metrolink lines this weekend.
As part of a continuing £150 million investment in the Metrolink network across the region, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has announced that more than 1km of track will be replaced on the Altrincham line, and work will also take place between Trafford Bar and Deansgate-Castlefield to prepare for full track replacement later in the year.
As a result, there will be no trams on the Altrincham, Eccles, and Trafford Park lines this Easter bank holiday weekend all day from Friday 3 to Monday 6 April.
On top of these line closures, there is also set to be disruption across other parts of the network too, as on the East Didsbury and Manchester Airport lines, trams will run to Firswood only, and services on the Rochdale line will terminate at Exchange Square.
To keep people moving over the four-day weekend, replacement buses will run between all the affected stops, TfGM has confirmed.
Anyone using a replacement bus, however, will still need a valid Metrolink ticket or a one-day Bee bus ticket to travel, and customers will be able to use all existing options to buy these, as they will not be able to buy a ticket or pay for the fare on the replacement buses themselves.
No trams will be running on three major Greater Manchester lines this Easter bank holiday weekend / Credit: TfGM
Replacement buses are said to be calling at ‘all affected stops’ along the lines, so customers are being told not to worry about that.
Speaking ahead of the improvement works being carried out this weekend, Ian Davies, who is the Network Director for Metrolink at TfGM, said: “The first main upgrades of the year get under way over the Easter weekend, as our £150m programme to improve our network continues.
“We’ll be doing everything we can to minimise disruption to passengers while we carry out this essential work to ensure our tram network remains reliable, resilient and safe for years to come.”
TfGM has assured that staff will be out and on-hand across the network this weekend, but is urging anyone travelling to plan for their journeys ahead of time to make sure they go as smoothly as possible.
Looking ahead to the rest of the month, no trams will run between Piccadilly Gardens and Ashton-under-Lyne on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 April while the track is repaired, and a further weekend closure for track repairs on the Ashton line will take place on Saturday 25 April and Sunday 26 April.
Find out more and plan ahead on the Bee Network’s dedicated webpage here.
Featured Image – Janus Boye
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Three men arrested after ‘shocking’ Salford pub fight leaves victim in life-threatening condition
Emily Sergeant
Three men have been arrested as police continue to appeal following a ‘shocking’ incident in Salford over the weekend.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explained that, at around 2:51am yesterday (Sunday 29 March), officers were called to reports of an assault at a pub on Liverpool Road in Irlam, where it’s understood that an incident involving several males took place.
Police quickly attended the scene, and one male was rushed to hospital.
The man sustained serious injuries and was taken to hospital for treatment, where he’s said to remain in a life-threatening condition.
While officers are working ‘at speed’ on their investigation to establish the full circumstances of this incident, a scene is currently in place, and road closures are affecting the immediate area.
At this time, it has been confirmed that three men – all in their 20s – have been arrested on suspicion of Section 18 assault, and they remain in custody for further questioning while GMP renews its public appeal for information.
“This is a shocking incident and our thoughts are firmly with the victim and his family during this extremely difficult time,” commented Detective Chief Inspector Helen Bagnall, from GMP’s Salford district. “We are working at pace and remain absolutely committed to identifying everyone involved and bringing those responsible to justice.
“Three arrests have been made in connection with this incident, and we are continuing to appeal for further information.
“Officers remain committed to understand the full circumstances and are urging anyone with information to come forward to support our investigation.”
Can you help? A dedicated online Major Incident Public Portal has been set up, and information, CCTV, dashcam, doorbell, and phone images and footage can be submitted here, or you can also contact police on 101, quoting log 256 of 29/03/26.
Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Danny Jones -
12th May 2023 
