I’m grateful to the Daily Echo for providing space for a regular column, where I give my ‘view from Westminster’ and provide Echo readers with an update on my campaigns and news from across Southampton Itchen.

In case you missed it, here’s my latest column, which was published in the Echo last Friday.

 

I recently spent a couple of fascinating hours at Riverside Park with some of the local community superstars who are working hard to improve our waterways.

 

The Test and Itchen Association and Friends of the Itchen Estuary have been raising awareness of why we should preserve this important and unique habitat, as well as sounding the alarm about pollution in the River Itchen for many years. When we met last week, we discussed the challenges of protecting this unique chalk stream and did some water testing of our own. Worryingly, this indicated that the level of E coli could be beyond the upper limit of what would be considered safe for bathing water – further proof, if any were needed, of the need for urgent action.

 

Cleaning up the River Itchen was one of my campaign pledges and this visit was a reminder of why we need to do more to protect the river and why this government’s reforms to our broken water sector are so important. Local residents have been calling for action for so long now. Families in Southampton are struggling with bill hikes, water bosses’ excessive pay is adding insult to injury, and, as I saw for myself at Riverside Park, pollution continues to affect how much we can enjoy our city’s waterways.

 

Thankfully, the Labour government is taking major action – replacing Ofwat with a new single, powerful regulator to cut pollution and protect families from massive bill hikes. It’s also establishing a Consumer Champion water ombudsman that will have legal powers to support customers, resolve disputes and put money back in people’s pockets. This means that water customers will have more support than ever before when faced with leaking pipes, incorrect bills or water supply issues.

 

As summer begins, I was pleased to host my first ‘Pint with your MP’ session at one of the city’s fantastic local watering holes, the Humble Plumb in Bitterne. This was another chance for me to meet and speak to constituents in a more informal setting about anything that’s on their minds. Of course, this wasn’t about whether people vote for me or necessarily even agree with me – some do, some don’t! But we enjoyed some really constructive conversations about issues that people wanted to raise with me – all while supporting one of our local independent pubs. I’ll be organising more of these soon, so please keep an eye on my website or social media for details.

 

As this event showed, the summer recess is a great opportunity to get out and about across Southampton and speak to as many constituents as possible. I’m planning to use the next few weeks to hold a ‘Summer of Listening’ where you can tell me more about your priorities. I look forward to seeing lots of you on the doorstep or at one of my street surgeries. And remember, if I can help with anything, you can get in touch anytime at darren.paffey.mp@parliament.uk.