Crewe and Nantwich MP Kieran Mullan said voting for a change to a planned Environment Bill outlawing sewage dumping is not financially practical.
Dr Mullan has hit back at critics who blasted him and other MPs who voted against a bid to amend the Bill.
The amendment would have outlawed water companies from dumping raw sewage into rivers and seas.
Speaking about his decision, Dr Mullan said the amendment was not practical as it would mean “changing the entire Victorian sewage system” in the UK.
And if it was voted through, he believes water companies would “go bust”.
He told Nantwich News: “I voted for the biggest change in the rules in this area for a generation.
“For the first time we will have a plan to eliminate overflows, for the first time there will be a duty to reduce overflows, for the first time we are actually measuring the overflows.
“We didn’t even used to know how much this was happening. This issue has been neglected for decades by successive governments.
“I think it is very sad that campaigners have so strongly criticised MPs and this Government when they have been the first Government willing to try and start to get a grip on the issue.
“This approach will deliver even more improvements to tackle the worst overflows in the areas of highest risk for humans and wildlife first. I think that is reasonable approach.”
Dr Mullan said it was “easy to be a campaigner” without considering spending and costs.
“There will always be people who want more done for what they care strongly about,” he added.
“If you swim in or use the rivers or the sea regularly you might want it to be top of the list for Government spending.
“But to completely stop these overflows overnight would take a huge amount of money.
“You would pretty much have to replace our entire Victorian sewage system.
“That would potentially cost more than we spend on Education and Defence combined and even potentially more than we spend on the NHS.
“I can’t support that as a reasonable use of money. It is easy to just be a campaigner for more money, you don’t have to explain what other spending is going to be cut to get the extra money you argue for.
“Government always has to balance what it spends money on. The idea private water companies can just pay for it is misleading.
“It would cost more than the total turnover of these companies. They would all go bust.”
However, local Labour politicians say Dr Mullan’s Government “inaction” is damaging the local environment.
Connor Naismith, Cheshire East Councillor for Crewe West, said: “Kieran Mullan’s claims show his party hasn’t learned its lesson and that levelling up will likely be a let-down if left to this shambolic government.
“According to the Rivers Trust, during 2020 the sewer storm overflow at Beam Bridge in Nantwich spilled 145 times for a total of 1,839 hours.
“This shows the damaging impact the government’s inaction is having on our doorstep.
“The bottom line is that the government has the power to act to protect our rivers from sewage and they (including Kieran) have chosen not to.”
I’ve voted Tory all my life,and this claphead….a supposed doctor, votes for sewerage to float past young children when they are swimming, talks about finance, this from a Tory government that spends billions Ona train that will save you 15 minutes to get to London……you couldn’t make it up!!
Here is a clear example where our representative isn’t OUR representative
Logic defines
Set law as it should be
Identify where non compliant
Plan/ cost steps to compliance
Prioritise and execute
OR
IGNORE AND DEFLECT
our elected representative is doing as he is told by a group of individuals who have a personal stake in where the money goes –
How many of these MP’s have shares in water companies? I’d suggest we fine every penny of profit from the water companies until they choose to use those profits to clean up their act. Water is a necessity of life not something that should be sold for profit.