Caroline Voaden: Urgent action needed to fix water industry

It’s incredible to think the general election was nearly six months ago – how time flies.

This time last year, opinion polls unanimously showed the country was crying out for change and hoping that the election would come sooner rather than later.  

Five months later, then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivered on that wish, scheduling an election for July 4, which resulted in his Conservative government being replaced by Labour, 100 years after they formed their first government. 

In South Devon, we made our own bit of history by electing a non-Tory MP for the first time in over 100 years.  

Taking on the role of being your MP is a huge privilege, and since the election I’ve been hard at work beginning to repay the faith placed in me in July.  

My team and I have handled over 5,000 items of personal and political casework, and sent over 9,500 emails and letters to you or on your behalf. That includes over 30 letters to Ministers about a range of issues including the cut to the winter fuel allowance, budgetary decisions, the war in Gaza and flooding issues.  

I’ve participated in multiple Westminster Hall debates, joined the Education Select Committee and the UK-EU Parliamentary Assembly, and submitted or asked dozens of questions.  

It’s little wonder the last six months feel like they’ve flashed by!  Just before I take a pause over the Christmas break, there are some actions I’ve taken since the election I’d like to highlight, and which point the way to my priorities in 2025.  

Water quality and sewage were major issues I campaigned hard on during the election, and since then, I’ve been busy putting those words into action.  

My first meeting as an MP was with Susan Davy, South West Water’s CEO, and since then I’ve had numerous conversations with the company about Cryptosporidium, sewage spills, water quality and flooding. I’ve also written to the Minister for Water about the government’s decision to end its £50 contribution to water bills for households in the South West and spoken in debates.  

Our water industry is fundamentally broken. That was obvious before the election, and yet the government’s main action on this front since July was to launch a new commission to investigate the sector.  

While I welcome this action, I’m sure many of us can already guess the commission’s findings. What I want to see next year is firm action to overhaul the industry, including creating a regulator with teeth to hold rogue firms to account.  

Fixing our NHS and social care were two other issues that came up repeatedly during the election. The Liberal Democrats have been campaigning incredibly hard on healthcare for years, and it was pleasing to see Labour finally act on fixing our healthcare crisis after so many years of decline under the Tories.  

The extra investment announced in the Budget was vital, but will in no way solve this crisis. GPs, dentistry, pharmacies, hospices and community hospitals – as we saw with Totnes Community Hospital recently – are all at breaking point.  

I’ve met and spoken to many local GPs and met Devon Primary Care representatives. I wrote to the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Social Care asking for GP funding to be increased in line with inflation. I was also proud to co-sign a letter calling for GPs and other health care providers to be made exempt from the rise in employers' National Insurance contributions.  

We write a lot of letters in Westminster!  

I’ve also co-signed letters on hospitality, trains and boosting economic growth in the South West, as well as initiating an invitation to property managing agents Firstport to come in and answer a raft of complaints from residents of 20 Lib Dem MPs.  

I’ve also co-sponsored multiple Bills, including the Safer Phones Bill, which protects our children from the harms posed by social media, and just this month, the Domestic Abuse Bill, which finally sets out specific offences tied to domestic abuse.  

It’s been a busy six months, and while I’m proud of what we’ve achieved so far, I know there is still so much more to do to improve your lives here in South Devon. I’m looking forward to 2025 and to building on the progress we’ve made.