It is a rudimentary lesson of statistics that correlation does not necessarily equal causation. Otherwise, Thames Water customers might reasonably conclude that the higher their bills rise, the more sewage the company pumps into London’s rivers.
The Evening Standard has today revealed that sewage flowed into the capital’s waterways for nearly 10,000 hours last year, up from almost 7,000 hours reported in 2022. It comes as Thames Water customers have been forced to swallow hikes averaging 12.1 per cent this week, with the firm refusing to rule out future increases as it grapples with debt and interest payments.
Shareholders seem happy to pump sewage into rivers but are less inclined to inject capital into the ailing company. Consequently, there are fears Thames Water may go bankrupt, or require what would effectively amount to nationalisation. Either way, as both tax and bill payers, Londoners look to be on the hook.
This would represent not only a gross failure of management but of regulation too. Thames Water customers are paying more and getting less. The whole thing stinks.
Narrowing debate
Even the infrastructure that is working is only “working by accident”. That’s the view of Zoë Garbett, the Green Party’s mayoral candidate, who has suggested Hammersmith Bridge — currently closed to motor vehicles — should remain open to pedestrians and cyclists but shut to cars.
This newspaper supports the knocking of heads together to get Hammersmith Bridge up and running for all users. There may not be a war on motorists, but it is not totally unreasonable for drivers to want to cross the Thames in west London (they certainly wouldn’t want to swim in it).
With the electoral system for the mayoral contest now first-past-the-post, smaller parties such as the Greens faced being “squeezed” by Labour and the Conservatives. This was a deliberate measure introduced by the Government and has narrowed both the debate and the effective choice Londoners now face.
Sadiq Khan’s campaign will warn voters that a Green or Lib Dem vote is a vote for the Tories, while Susan Hall’s team will say the same, but for Labour. At least one of them may even be right. But campaigns aren’t just about sorting winners and losers. They ought to be a genuine battle of ideas.
Big-screen blossoms
Meteorological spring may have sprung weeks ago, but try telling that to the weather. So leave it to the big screens of the Outernet to bring the blossoms to life.
It has joined forces with the National Trust to produce an immersive experience where Londoners can see petals raining down on the streets. It beats the endless rain.
