Latest news with #Sharkey
New Statesman
23-07-2025
- Politics
- New Statesman
The Mouses of Parliament
Photo byMPs and peers have packed their buckets and spades so actual rodents can enjoy a free run of the Mouses of Parliament over the summer. The infestation is worsening in a crumbling palace previously awarded a low two (out of five) catering hygiene rating by Westminster City Council after droppings were found in nearly two dozen places. Only this month the nature minister Mary Creagh's grilling on sustainability by the Environmental Audit Committee in room eight was interrupted by a mouse scampering across the floor. 'Oh my God,' squealed a startled Creagh, 'it must have been a species recovery right here in the room.' The upside was the uninvited visitor at least made her hearing memorable, unlike the Prime Minister's at the Liaison Committee the same day. One cabinet minister purred that Keir Starmer was human Trazodone, which was mission accomplished after a tumultuous first year. Gurgling down the plughole of Steve Reed's water refresher went Feargal Sharkey's prospects of a peerage after the campaigner and former Undertones frontman called for the Environment Secretary's resignation over the 'water industry shambles'. Sharkey was widely floated for ermine, having hosed down the dirty Tories in dozens of target seats in an arduous tour during the election campaign. A snout said a No 10 hitherto fretting about whether Sharkey might go rogue in the Lords had a definitive answer. It's All Over Now, as Sharkey once sang. Donald Trump is often best charmed on the golf course. Japan's Shinzo Abe even gifted him a gold-plated club. But who in the British cabinet could enjoy a round with the president? Not Starmer, who became the first PM to turn down membership of a Chequers-linked golf club. The leading contender ahead of Trump's flying visit to his Turnberry course was the Attorney General, Richard Hermer, who volunteered earlier this year. Could his swing convince Trump that human rights lawyers aren't all bad? Perhaps, if he lets the president win. Having lost out in the Conservative leadership contest to Kemi Badenoch after dim-witted supporters inadvertently rigged the ballot against him, James 'not very' Cleverly returned to the front bench to be the – seriously – 'thinking Tories'' answer to Robert 'generic' Jenrick. Urbane Cleverly will, whispered an admirer, go full video and challenge his more reactionary colleague's domination of the bandwidth. Classic divide and rule from Badenoch. Handbags at dawn in Nigel Farage's big press conference on crime. Laila Cunningham, a London councillor who last month joined Reform from the Tories, kicked off proceedings, before the Runcorn by-election victor, Sarah Pochin, the party's sole female MP, got up to thank her. Pochin noted that thanks to Cunningham's defection 'Reform UK now has two formidable women who speak with bravery and conviction about what needs to be done to bring back law and order to our streets'. But wait! Was she forgetting the existence of former Conservative minister Andrea Jenkyns, now Reform's Greater Lincolnshire mayor and until Pochin's triumph the party's most high-profile woman? Or does Pochin not think Jenkyns is 'formidable' enough on the subject of law and order? Jenkyns was not in attendance, but she has previously been spotted rolling her eyes when Pochin speaks at events. Is the upstart party big enough for both? MPs left for the recess still speculating on what was behind Rachel Reeves' PMQs tears. The latest theory doing the rounds is that shortly before the Chancellor entered the chamber she received a very shouty phone call from burly peer Tom Watson, Labour's rambunctious former deputy leader. Watson is locked in a fiery spat with a member of Reeves' team and, the story goes, called her to vent. Was it Watson's venomous words that reduced Reeves to tears? The official line remains a benefits-bashed Chancellor cracked after a dressing down from the Speaker. No cuddly politics in a Green Party with as many MPs (four) as Reform, yet a fraction of the public attention and prospects. MP Carla Denyer's focus on her Bristol Central constituency is blamed by some for the Greens' failure to take the West of England mayoralty in May. Labour's Helen Godwin pipped Reform squillionaire Brexit bad boy Arron Banks, with the eco brigade back in third. Denyer subsequently stood down as the Greens' co-leader. Voting to elect a fresh top team opens in August. In a fevered internal contest the stark choice is between Denyer's fellow chief, MP Adrian Ramsay, on a ticket with a third MP, Ellie Chowns, and the insurgent Zack Polanski pitching himself as the Greens' populist answer to Farage's turquoise reactionaryism. The Greens are at a crossroads. Predicting which way they'll turn would be a mug's game. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Over in the Lords a new name was heard in the undeclared contest to lead Tory peers: Thérèse Coffey. Briefly deputy PM during the Liz Truss interregnum, Coffey swapped parliamentary houses after voters in Suffolk Coastal issued marching orders and preferred Labour army reservist Jenny Riddell-Carpenter. Sociable Coffey, whispered a snout, is trying to mobilise the Tory turnip Taliban. Snout Line: Got a story? Write to tips@ [See also: Kemi Badenoch isn't working] Related
Powys County Times
21-07-2025
- Business
- Powys County Times
Water industry review unlikely to spark required change, claims Feargal Sharkey
Water campaigner Feargal Sharkey says he believes a landmark review into the water industry will not produce changes the public and customers desperately need. The Independent Water Commission, led by former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe, will outline recommendations to turn around the floundering sector in its final report on Monday, with claims it will lead to the abolition of embattled water regulator Ofwat. But former Undertones frontman Sharkey, who has become a leading campaigner for water companies to clean up their act, said he fears the highly anticipated report will be a 'flat pancake'. He told the PA news agency: 'We were promised that the report will bring us champagne – but it will just be a saucer of milk.' Sharkey, who has given evidence to MPs on the need for reform and has spoken at numerous public and trade union meetings, said he does not believe 'much will happen' as a result of the report's findings. 'Sir Jon's job is to make the current system better, but so many things have not been considered in his review, such as the ownership of the water companies. 'I also don't think you can talk about abolishing Ofwat without considering the future of the Environment Agency – and taking a long, hard look at the Environment Department (Defra), as well as the lack of action from government ministers for many years. They are just as culpable.' Sharkey said governments have had the power to punish water companies over sewage pollution, or the 'scandal' of paying huge bonuses to bosses, but had chosen not to use them for years. He believes the public and customers have been treated with 'contempt' by water companies for years despite outrage over sewage pollution of rivers and waterways. He added the fact that the review had been held was a victory for the many small community groups across the country set up to tackle the crisis. The review was commissioned by the UK and Welsh governments as part of their response to systemic industry failures, which include rising bills, record sewage spills and debt-ridden company finances, although ministers have ruled out nationalising companies. A Government spokesperson pointed out that unfair bonuses have been banned for senior executives at six water companies under new measures which came into force last month. The Government said at the time that transformative change across the water sector was needed to clean up rivers, lakes and seas, and modernise the sector for decades to come.
South Wales Guardian
21-07-2025
- Business
- South Wales Guardian
Water industry review unlikely to spark required change, claims Feargal Sharkey
The Independent Water Commission, led by former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe, will outline recommendations to turn around the floundering sector in its final report on Monday, with claims it will lead to the abolition of embattled water regulator Ofwat. But former Undertones frontman Sharkey, who has become a leading campaigner for water companies to clean up their act, said he fears the highly anticipated report will be a 'flat pancake'. He told the PA news agency: 'We were promised that the report will bring us champagne – but it will just be a saucer of milk.' Sharkey, who has given evidence to MPs on the need for reform and has spoken at numerous public and trade union meetings, said he does not believe 'much will happen' as a result of the report's findings. 'Sir Jon's job is to make the current system better, but so many things have not been considered in his review, such as the ownership of the water companies. 'I also don't think you can talk about abolishing Ofwat without considering the future of the Environment Agency – and taking a long, hard look at the Environment Department (Defra), as well as the lack of action from government ministers for many years. They are just as culpable.' Sharkey said governments have had the power to punish water companies over sewage pollution, or the 'scandal' of paying huge bonuses to bosses, but had chosen not to use them for years. He believes the public and customers have been treated with 'contempt' by water companies for years despite outrage over sewage pollution of rivers and waterways. He added the fact that the review had been held was a victory for the many small community groups across the country set up to tackle the crisis. The review was commissioned by the UK and Welsh governments as part of their response to systemic industry failures, which include rising bills, record sewage spills and debt-ridden company finances, although ministers have ruled out nationalising companies. A Government spokesperson pointed out that unfair bonuses have been banned for senior executives at six water companies under new measures which came into force last month. The Government said at the time that transformative change across the water sector was needed to clean up rivers, lakes and seas, and modernise the sector for decades to come. Under the rules, companies are not permitted to pay bonuses to water bosses that oversee poor environmental and customer outcomes.
Leader Live
21-07-2025
- Business
- Leader Live
Water industry review unlikely to spark required change, claims Feargal Sharkey
The Independent Water Commission, led by former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe, will outline recommendations to turn around the floundering sector in its final report on Monday, with claims it will lead to the abolition of embattled water regulator Ofwat. But former Undertones frontman Sharkey, who has become a leading campaigner for water companies to clean up their act, said he fears the highly anticipated report will be a 'flat pancake'. He told the PA news agency: 'We were promised that the report will bring us champagne – but it will just be a saucer of milk.' Sharkey, who has given evidence to MPs on the need for reform and has spoken at numerous public and trade union meetings, said he does not believe 'much will happen' as a result of the report's findings. 'Sir Jon's job is to make the current system better, but so many things have not been considered in his review, such as the ownership of the water companies. 'I also don't think you can talk about abolishing Ofwat without considering the future of the Environment Agency – and taking a long, hard look at the Environment Department (Defra), as well as the lack of action from government ministers for many years. They are just as culpable.' Sharkey said governments have had the power to punish water companies over sewage pollution, or the 'scandal' of paying huge bonuses to bosses, but had chosen not to use them for years. He believes the public and customers have been treated with 'contempt' by water companies for years despite outrage over sewage pollution of rivers and waterways. He added the fact that the review had been held was a victory for the many small community groups across the country set up to tackle the crisis. The review was commissioned by the UK and Welsh governments as part of their response to systemic industry failures, which include rising bills, record sewage spills and debt-ridden company finances, although ministers have ruled out nationalising companies. A Government spokesperson pointed out that unfair bonuses have been banned for senior executives at six water companies under new measures which came into force last month. The Government said at the time that transformative change across the water sector was needed to clean up rivers, lakes and seas, and modernise the sector for decades to come. Under the rules, companies are not permitted to pay bonuses to water bosses that oversee poor environmental and customer outcomes.
North Wales Chronicle
21-07-2025
- Business
- North Wales Chronicle
Water industry review unlikely to spark required change, claims Feargal Sharkey
The Independent Water Commission, led by former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe, will outline recommendations to turn around the floundering sector in its final report on Monday, with claims it will lead to the abolition of embattled water regulator Ofwat. But former Undertones frontman Sharkey, who has become a leading campaigner for water companies to clean up their act, said he fears the highly anticipated report will be a 'flat pancake'. He told the PA news agency: 'We were promised that the report will bring us champagne – but it will just be a saucer of milk.' Sharkey, who has given evidence to MPs on the need for reform and has spoken at numerous public and trade union meetings, said he does not believe 'much will happen' as a result of the report's findings. 'Sir Jon's job is to make the current system better, but so many things have not been considered in his review, such as the ownership of the water companies. 'I also don't think you can talk about abolishing Ofwat without considering the future of the Environment Agency – and taking a long, hard look at the Environment Department (Defra), as well as the lack of action from government ministers for many years. They are just as culpable.' Sharkey said governments have had the power to punish water companies over sewage pollution, or the 'scandal' of paying huge bonuses to bosses, but had chosen not to use them for years. He believes the public and customers have been treated with 'contempt' by water companies for years despite outrage over sewage pollution of rivers and waterways. He added the fact that the review had been held was a victory for the many small community groups across the country set up to tackle the crisis. The review was commissioned by the UK and Welsh governments as part of their response to systemic industry failures, which include rising bills, record sewage spills and debt-ridden company finances, although ministers have ruled out nationalising companies. A Government spokesperson pointed out that unfair bonuses have been banned for senior executives at six water companies under new measures which came into force last month. The Government said at the time that transformative change across the water sector was needed to clean up rivers, lakes and seas, and modernise the sector for decades to come. Under the rules, companies are not permitted to pay bonuses to water bosses that oversee poor environmental and customer outcomes.
