Thousands take to London streets calling for prompt water action

On Sunday afternoon, 15,000 demonstrators demanding greater environmental protection marched through London, demanding water action.

More than 130 organizations participated in the march from Vauxhall to Parliament Square, with environmental activists and water sport enthusiasts citing the UK's rivers and seas' health as a major point of disagreement.

Protesters, led by well-known individuals including actor Jim Murray and broadcaster Chris Packham, wore blue waves and carried placards that said, "Bring Water Into Public Ownership" and "End Sewage Pollution." 

Many brought signs referencing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, demanding the newly-elected Labour government address the level of pollution and sewage lining bodies of water including London’s River Thames.

Members from Milton Keynes Blue Tits, just one branch of the popular wild swimming collective’s 100, travelled to the capital to make their voices heard – with one member Lisa demanding an end to ‘medieval times’.

She said: “It seems crazy to us that in this country we should all have to come and do this but we’re all proud to be here and we want our voices to be heard.

“We pay the water companies and they should be doing what they’re being told to do. 

“The government say they hold them to account, but they don’t.”

Amid a turbulent period for water provisioning across the UK, campaigning body and protest organisers River Action estimated that raw sewage was dumped in the River Thames for more than 1,900 hours across 2024 alone.

Despite many at the march calling for public ownership of water, some attendees suggested the first answer was redirecting private funds into a clean-up campaign.

Fiona, who travelled from Suffolk to the protest, explained how streams of waste were impacting both human and animal life.

She said: “We’ve been in Whitstable, and there were no Oysters because there had been sewage outputs into the seas

“It’s deadly, if your dog or your child fell in, they would get seriously ill, and it’s just appalling.”

Beyond the march, protestors gathered in Parliament Square to hear from speakers calling on the government to uphold legislation and increase efficient water usage.

Lisa echoed that sentiment, before making a plea to authorities.

She said: “We’d like to see the profits are pumped into cleaning the waters rather than making a few people richer than they already are.

“Please just listen to us, we’re the people that vote at the end of the day.

“We’re here for ourselves and we’re here for others who can’t be here today, and we’re here for the wildlife who can’t speak for themselves, so sort it out.”