Punk star turned rivers campaigner Feargal Sharkey hits campaign trail

Environmental campaigner Feargal Sharkey met the Labour MP candidate for Bicester and Woodstock to jointly commit to cleaning up our waterways.

Singer, solo artist and frontman for punk band The Undertones, Mr Sharkey is well-known for his views on the state of UK waterways.

He said: “Last year water companies spent 4.6 million hours dumping sewage into our rivers and on to our beaches.

"It’s got to stop.”

Veronica Oakeshott, Labour MP candidate for Bicester, Kidlington and Woodstock, said: “Our beautiful rivers are being poisoned. I used to swim outdoors near my grandparents' home here, as a child. I’d worry my own children would get sick if I let them do the same now.”

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Waterways are a key feature of Bicester, Kidlington and Woodstock’s landscape.

Streams and brooks feed into the Cherwell, Evenlode, Glyme, Windrush and ultimately the Thames.

Environmental charity The Rivers Trust has found none of these rivers are in good health, with many in a poor or bad state.

Sewage works run by Thames Water at Bletchingdon, Church Hanborough, Combe and South Leigh, discharged raw sewage for a total of 8,000 hours during 2023 - or over 300 days.

Ms Oakeshott said: "Labour will force water companies to clean up our rivers. Bosses' bonuses will be blocked and criminal charges brought against persistent polluters. Independent monitoring will be put in place to ensure promises are kept."

Mr Sharkey, who is president of Labour's Environment Campaign, is touring the UK’s best loved river and seas to highlight water pollution and support Labour candidates who are members of the campaign.  

He said: “We have to change what’s been going on. There’s not a single river near Bicester and Woodstock that’s not polluted.

"There’s brilliant campaigning going on here near the river Windrush.”

The other candidates for the Bicester and Woodstock seat are: Rupert Harrison (Conservatives), Calum Miller (Liberal Democrats), Ian Middleton (Green), Augustine Obodo (Reform UK) and Tim Funnell (Social Democratic Party).