I'm heartened by Labour's proposal to charge a royalty for water use and earmark that money for cleaning up our rivers.
Not because I think this is the best policy response, it just shows to me that a threshold of concern has been reached. A majority of people in this country want something done about our polluted waterways, and quickly.
Labour would never have announced the policy unless it thought it would go down well with a good many voters. It is too poll driven to go out on a limb. Which is one good thing about political gradualism, if enough people want it politicians can eventually get around to doing something about it, or at least the appearance of doing something.
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There's been condemnation of course. If you're a farmer, a water bottler, you don't want the extra cost.
And maybe, if Labour is elected, introducing the royalty will be the straw that breaks the cow's back for some indebted dairy farmers. Though I'd suggest rising interest rates and the next spike in oil prices will do this first.