Labour vows to make Britain's rivers cleanest by 2030

Labour will leave Britain with the cleanest rivers on record by cutting sewage pollution from water firms in half by 2030, the environment secretary will say. Steve Reed will promise on Sunday to make the UK's rivers the cleanest since records began with a £104bn investment to rebuild the country's crumbling sewage pipes. Mr Reed will also roll out a set of strict new rules to slash pollution and a “root and branch” overhaul of the way water companies are regulated.

- Archie Mitchell, The Independent

With a landmark report into the industry being published on Monday, the environment secretary is to promise families across the country cleaner beaches and healthier rivers.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Reed said Labour would unleash a “water revolution” in response to Sir Jon's review. He said leaky pipes and crumbling infrastructure has cost taxpayers tens of billions of pounds, promising the party would look to eliminate sewage pollution in rivers completely by 2035. And, amid speculation Ofwat is to be scrapped, he said the water regulator “has failed everyone”.

Mr Reed said: “I'm making an absolute commitment, and I'm committed to delivering it. “My intention, assuming I'm lucky enough to still be in the same job in five years' time, I would love to sit here with you then and point to places like Windermere and see how much cleaner they are than today.”