Protestors put up satirical blue plaque outside Scarborough & Whitby MP Sir Robert Goodwill's office

On Tuesday, March 28, protestors gathered outside the MP’s constituency office and put up a blue plaque criticising his parliamentary voting record on sewage disposal.

The plaque put up by the demonstrators read: “Robert Goodwill voted to block a law requiring water companies to dump less raw sewage in our waterways and seas, 20 October 2021.”

Usually blue plaques commemorate links between a location and notable people or events, with several located across the borough.

Sir Robert, who was not at his constituency office when the demonstration took place, defended his record and said that rivers and seas are “the cleanest they have ever been”.

The Conservative member of parliament clarified that he opposed an amendment to the Environment Bill by a member of the House of Lords which proposed imposing a legal duty on water companies to reduce the discharges of untreated sewage.

Sir Robert told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “The amendment from the Duke of Wellington would have made it illegal for a water company to put sewage or any wastewater into the sea or watercourse.

“[Discharges] tend to happen in times of heavy rainfall and they would have had to turn off the valve and let the sewage back into people’s houses or let it run down streets.

“It was not a practical amendment at all but of course, often those engaged in political campaigns don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.”

Taking part in the protest, members of Extinction Rebellion, No More Trash, Reclaim the Sea and other members of the public said they “want the government and water companies to clean up their act and stop the dumping of raw sewage in our rivers, watercourses and seas”.

One of the demonstrators, Stephanie Pride, said: “I’m here because I’m a sea swimmer and I can tell when the sea has had sewage discharge.

“It just gets brown, frothy, disgusting and has made people and animals ill.

"I know that most years we get up to 100 sewage discharges from pipes right onto the beach and there is no excuse for it.”

Ms Pride said: “It just seems like a no-brainer to me and Robert Goodwill is letting everybody down completely”.

Cllr Theresa Norton, who was suspended from the Labour Party because of her activism with Just Stop Oil and and later resigned from the Party, said: “The satirical blue plaque highlights Robert Goodwill’s ineffectual use of his voting in the House of Commons.”

She said: “We love our environment and yet the Government is more interested in the profits of water companies than it is in keeping us safe from harm… and the fact remains that the spillage of sewage into the sea continues.”

Speaking to the LDRS, Sir Robert said that “by the time the stormwater tank at the end of Marine Drive is full, what is going into the sea is pretty much rainwater, although it is defined as raw sewage”.

Asked whether he thought the Government should do more to hold water companies to account, the MP said: “Some large fines have been issued to water companies and indeed Southern Water have been discharging when they shouldn’t have.

“When you don’t have heavy rainfall, there’s no excuse for sewage pass discharging.

"Large fines have been levied and the money will be used for better water treatment.”

Also taking part in the demonstration was local swimmer Michael Whiteley, who said he was “reluctant” to put his head under the sea “because I know what it is like and it is absolutely wrong”.

Attending the protest, Labour Cllr Rich Maw said: “Funding of the environment agency has been slashed by around 50 per cent over the last decade leading to self-reporting by water companies on spills.”

He added: “Overall, the whole practice of pumping sewage into waterways and the sea, in my view and the view of the people here, is disgusting.”

Sir Robert said that he “absolutely” accepted the concerns of people regarding the state of the environment and waterways and said, “yes, we do need to continue to invest in better water treatment but ultimately that is paid for by people’s water bills”.