We wish Steve Reed luck in reversing years of shameful neglect of our waterways
Clean-up time
THE belated arrival of summer has had holidaymakers flocking to the nation’s beaches and inland waterways.
They shouldn’t have to find the water polluted with disgusting, stinking sewage, as is too often the case.
So they, like us, will applaud Environment Secretary Steve Reed’s vow to put on trial any water company bosses responsible for repeatedly fouling our environment.
For too long the fatcats have spent our money on generous dividends for shareholders and obscene bonuses for themselves when they should have been protecting our water supply, fixing the leaks and stopping the flow of toxic effluent into our rivers, lakes and seas.
Their serial failures will be even more glaring if, as is entirely possible, our extremely brief summer is followed by drought warnings and hosepipe bans.
Mr Reed promises £88billion of private investment to start cleaning up our waterways, to unlock nine new reservoirs and seven large-scale water transfer schemes, as well as upgrading 8,000km of water mains and 2,500 storm overflows.
We wish him luck in reversing years of shameful neglect.
Cancel plans
GOVERNMENT plans to axe a Tory law that would target university cancel culture, even before the legislation has come into effect, are deeply worrying.
Some ignorant students’ intolerance of any views at odds with own narrow-minded ideology might suit those, on or off campus, who are equally blinkered.
But it is extremely dangerous to a healthy democracy, not to mention guaranteed to produce a generation of graduates woefully ill-educated and ill-equipped to deal with the real world.
On the plus side, the decision by fearless anti-woke campaigner Kemi Badenoch to join the race to replace Rishi Sunak as Tory leader is good news.
The Shadow Communities Secretary is not afraid to challenge corrosive identity politics or warped counter-culture, and to voice the sensible concerns of the silent majority.
She won’t be letting anyone, including stroppy students, threaten freedom of speech without putting up a hell of a fight.
Stroke of genius
THE term “Great” is sometimes bestowed too easily but it applies to Adam Peaty.
For so long he was invincible in the 100m breaststroke, winning successive Olympic gold medals.
Then the mental demons struck.
To have beaten them and then to come back to win 100m silver last night — and be so agonisingly close to a third gold — is a remarkable achievement.
He can be very proud. And to his young son he will always be “the fastest boy”.