Morning everyone. Bit of a political one today but some things need to be shared. I am concerned about the state of our rivers. They are in a perilous state and it would be hard to find someone who disagrees with that including politicians and CEOs of privatised water companies. Meanwhile I pity those who make loads of noise, criticise, complain, point fingers, demand action but fail to undertand they are making absolutely no difference whatsoever. Empty vessels and all that.
Hate to break it to you, nothing is going to change anytime soon. Let me explain why.

I read a newspaper article by Leo McKinstry a couple of days back and it clearly explained the situation and I would like to share some of the facts he revealed.
Earlier this week the Office for National Statistics revealed the British population grew 1% to 68.3 million in the year to June 2023, the greatest increase since records began.
And the statistics emphasised that this phenomenal rise was entirely driven by the vast influx of new arrivals.
It is not just the NHS that is creaking under the strain of demographic upheaval. Our roads are congested, our sewers overflowing, our energy prices soaring. The welfare system is unsustainable, just as the supply of housing is hopelessly inadequate for current needs.
McKinstry goes on to highlight imported misogyny, sectarianism and extremism. That the tradition of free speech is gravely threatened by authoritarian zealots. The dark shadow of chaos hangs over our urban landscape, reflected in knife crime and gangland violence.
This has been a social revolution without any mandate. No mainstream party ever campaigned for an open door policy. On the contrary the leading politicians all promised tighter control.
The impact of their dishonesty may be even greater than is often recognised, for the absence of rigour from the authorities has created a climate of laxity, characterised by a vast black market, an absence of deportations and a dangerous ignorance about the numbers who really live in Britain. Officialdom is almost clueless about the true size of the British population.
A study by an Oxford University team this week maintained that one in every 100 residents is a foreigner with no right to be here, which implies a total of around 745,000 illegal immigrants.
But the historian Ed West argues, in a brilliant essay, that the real figures could be much higher. He notes that the number of patients registered with GPs is six million more than the official estimate of England’s population, just as the roll-out of the Covid vaccine involved 5 million more people than the bureaucrats records suggested. Similarly supermarket receipts for basic necessities appear to show that the State’s calculations of the British population are far too low.
So, what does this mean in relation to the state of our rivers? Clearly the failure to plan effectively, based on real figures rather than wishful thinking or cynical deceit, is a prime reason our country and in particular our waterways are in such a mess.
These missing millions are still taking a dump each day and flushing it into our sewerage system. We have reached that point where we cannot possible treat it all. Demand now exceeds supply and the situation continues to worsen each day. The system we have is not adequate to deal with demand. The poo mountains cannot be magicked away. It cannot be stored for long or it backs up onto the streets. It has to be gotten rid of somehow and there is only one place it can go.
Contempt for the British people shines through the Government’s refusal to get a grip of the true numbers living here. Just as the authorities continually lie about the scale of the influx, so they pump out their hollow propaganda claiming “diversity is our strength” or immigration is the key to growth.
But the attempt to conceal reality is no longer working. The public knows what is happening in their neighbourhoods – and that makes the sense of betrayal by the politicians all the greater.

So, if you think someone can snap their fingers and demand the problem goes away, then get a grip. The bottom line is, demand exceeds supply. The Government refuses to acknowledge the scale of this demand and it is more interested in saving the planet in some far flung land than saving our waterways. The idea this problem is going to go away in our lifetimes is preposterous. Any idea that you can shout at the Angling Trust or the Water Companies and it will be solved, just like that, is hilarious.
Isn’t it strange. It took a bunch of pop stars to fight for clean water in Africa. I wonder if politicians in that era were given free tickets, but in the case of Live Aid, perhaps not.
I would hate to think that our best hope for enjoying clean rivers in England might rest with a bunch of footballers or former X Factor ‘stars’ coming up with some kind of Poo Aid 2025 that will highlight the plight of our waterways, because make no mistake things are certain to get a whole lot worse before they get better. Anyone who thinks otherwise is deluded.
I say that with confidence because change will require a massive political upheaval to effect and the investment of billions of pounds. I see no prospect of this, merely a ridiculous drive towards net zero, sending cash to fund India’s space programme, pensioners being robbed blind, prisoners getting released, Facebook commenters being jailed, politicians getting back handed with freebies right, left and centre and a serious lack of practical thinking. Worse still, no-one even appears to be looking for a solution.
I’m sorry, the question is not whether our rivers are doomed, merely when.
It fills me with dread. At least we have Feargal’s good heart on our side at the moment. Unlike many who merely attack the Angling Trust from a position of ignorance and reposted platitudes, he at least has got on board and attempted to do something positive. Any fool can snipe from afar.
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