To Margaret Curran’s boy – Scotland does not waste taxpayer money to monitor all of its nearly 4 000 water outflows because, unlike in England, almost all of them are not and have never been polluted – SIMPLE
🤡 This Labour Roaster holds the privatised catastrophe of the English Water Market as the example Scotland should follow! Peak Unionist… unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/JjAuLxSWj6
Another ‘Scottish’ Labour MP, Chris Murray, son of a Labour member of the Lords, Margaret Curran, feeds an English Labour minister with lies about Scotland that can be used then to attack the SNP rather than the Labour-run councils actually responsible for any beach pollution or supposed lack of monitoring.
First the supposed Portobello beach pollution, Murray reported last year:
A picture of an apparent sewage leak at Portobello Beach (Image: @ChrisMurrayMP, via Twitter/X)
Pink diesel, 100% commented one reader. From a tractor raking the sand
The actual facts on water company illegal sewage disposal:
English water companies fined FOURTEEN THOUSAND times as much for illegal sewage discharges as those in Scotland
August 6th 2024, in the Guardian we read:
Thames, Yorkshire and Northumbrian Water will be fined a record £168m between them for a “catalogue of failure” over illegal sewage discharges into rivers and the sea after the industry regulator’s biggest ever investigation.
The flows and levels in Scotland’s water environment are currently at good or better condition in 90% of rivers, lochs and groundwaters. This is up from 88% when we published the second RBMPs.
As for the supposed lack of monitoring, Scotland does, admittedly, not waste time or money monitoring outflows where there is and never has been a source of pollution. England monitors a higher percentage of outflows because almost everything there is polluted – SIMPLE!
What will look bad at first sight for some, is a classic example of misleading reporting. Scotland has 18 743 km of coastline compared to England’s 8 982, only one-tenth of the population and, crucially far fewer areas requiring monitoring.
Dr Simon Boxall of Southampton University, a leading expert on water quality, explained this in the National, in August 2022:
An overview of the most obvious data on bathing water quality superficially appears to show Scotland actually has poorer-quality bathing spots than England.
But this is only half the picture, according to one of the UK’s leading experts on water quality.
Scottish swimmers paddling in and around Scotland’s 18,743km coastline do enjoy cleaner water than those taking a dip down south, said Dr Simon Boxall, based at the National Oceanography Centre at Southampton University.
Looking at the monitored “bathing waters” in Scotland paints a slightly misleading picture of overall water quality in the country, he told The National.
Compared with England, Scotland’s monitored swimming spots are poorer quality: just 38% of the 85 identified locations were recognised as “excellent” according to EU standards, compared with 71% of those in England.
Most of Scotland’s waters are not cause for concern, he said, meaning they did not need the same level of monitoring as takes place in England.
He added: “I would say Scotland does a better job [of monitoring] than England does.”
“If we’re not going into some of the more remote parts, for example north-west Scotland, because there’s no need to, I know full well the beaches up there are phenomenally good,” he added.
“If they are focusing their efforts on areas which are likely to suffer from pollution, then they’ll get more positives – in terms of pollution – than if they are doing the fairly broad-sweep approach of looking at every 10km on the south coast of England.
“So, you are going to find patchiness – there are going to be parts of Scotland, if you look at the Clyde estuary for example where you’ve got a huge population, you’re going to have a higher level of pollution.”
“To be fair to Scotland, they’re actually not monitoring a lot of the areas which don’t need it,” he added.
“In England, they tend to take more of the, ‘we’ll do every, say 70km approach’.
“They’re bound to find more high-quality beaches because there are, particularly in the west coast of England, fewer potential inputs.”
The flows and levels in Scotland’s water environment are currently at good or better condition in 90% of rivers, lochs and groundwaters. This is up from 88% when we published the second RBMPs.
Does Scotland show there is an alternative to this system? Scottish Water is a wholly public entity directly accountable to the Scottish Parliament. It offers lower bills than any of the English companies, and invests around 35% more in infrastructure. This is delivering results for the Scottish taxpayer and public.
7 thoughts on “To Margaret Curran’s boy – Scotland does not waste taxpayer money to monitor all of its nearly 4 000 water outflows because, unlike in England, almost all of them are not and have never been polluted – SIMPLE”
Liebare roaster, indeed!
Imagine trying to trash your country of birth to score some political points.
There’s not a mirror large enough for these people to take a long hard look at themselves.
I could say I pity them but they’re despicable for trying to hoodwink the people of Scotland.
Yep saw this on the previous post on TUS in a comment by rtpscott.
My response was ….
Yep this is yet another subservient Labour MP to Labour HQ , one Chris Murray, who took Tommy Sheppard’s seat in Edinburgh East/ Musselburgh in the 2024 GE.
He is my MP , well he was elected by others , but he neither speaks for me nor represents me as an MP.
However he does speak for Labour HQ and he does represents them, Labour HQ, in Scotland.
He is also on the Advisory Council of ‘These Islands’ , of course he is.
(I am sure he also , like Ian Murray, attends the ‘Scotland in Union’ Burns supper, as both they and he tries to burn all of Scotland’s chances in being economically successful as a nation within their UK ).
In May 2024 he tweeted:
“Sewage overflow is pumped into Scottish waters and it isn’t even monitored. There is eight times more sewage debris on our beaches than England’s (which are in a state too!). This is a scandal. The Scottish Government should act – our beaches deserve better”
He was called out for false reports that he (instinctively) made about Portobello beach in Edinburgh as in July 2024, Portobello beach, in Murray’s constituency , was closed for a short period after high levels of bacteria were present in the water. Murray falsely attributed this to sewage, but it was later confirmed by SEPA not to be a pollution related incident.
As to Labour and English waters and sewage pollution well the now famous environmentalist and clean water campaigner (and once the former Undertones singer) Feargal Sharkey has said that Labour “has no real plan to tackle the sewage crisis damaging England’s rivers (which the ‘I’ newspaper reported that he said was “damaging Britain’s rivers”).
Vote SNP in 2026 via a majority, as we do need to show solidarity against those Labour MP’s that some elected in 2024 in Scotland , while they were under the false apprehension aka misapprehension that they, as Labour MP’s, would indeed offer us a “change” but have now proven that they are actually a “Change” for the worse.
Scotland does not vote Tory by a majority yet that trend was well and truly ‘bucked’ when they voted for 37 Labour MP’s in 2024, forgetting the memo that states ‘Never trust a Tory’ (of any colour , be it red , blue or even Lib Dem colour Ha Ha)
Had intended to comment on this performative idiot’s statement earlier – “Sewage overflow is pumped into Scottish waters and it isn’t even monitored. There is eight times more sewage debris on our beaches than England’s (which are in a state too!). This is a scandal. The Scottish Government should act – our beaches deserve better”
Sewage overflows do not exist, combined storm overflows do, but are not pumped (clue is ‘overflow’), the sewage at this point diluted by a factor of 6 or more by rainwater – Those likely to activate in storm events have fine screening incorporated at the spill weir, on the bigger ones mechanical fine screens activated by level controls, the chances of ‘sewage debris’ getting through any of that, close to zero.
In short, the only debris likely to be seen on a Scottish beach was blown there, dropped there, or came in on the tide from god knows where, but it sure as hell wasn’t sewage related…
Scotland has been retro-separating storm and foul flows for over 40 years, ever minimising the CSO problem – With Inspectors from SW and SEPA, and maintenance crews keeping a constant eye on things, you don’t get much better than that for monitoring – Scotland and now so far ahead of England and it’s privatised mess, it’s embarrassing, that’s the reason for Murray’s ridiculous theatrics.
Only the electorate of Musselburgh have the power to control the ‘sewage’ emanating from the ‘scandal’ which is Chris Murray, I doubt he’ll be missed…
Here is another one which might be of interest to TUS Prof John.All week we have had the Tory P@J doing an in depth study of NHS Scotland its terrible they say and now today we have our old “friend” not Iain Kennedy giving his voice to it.
O/T tho’ another insight into ‘our’ British Labour Party government. Does the PM’s rhetoric reported below – that “the British defence industry will be the engine of national renewal” – make anyone else uncomfortable?
On his government’s policy for defence spending rising to 3% of GDP by the next Westminster parliament, the PM states (with my emphasis)
‘But look, I do want to be clear – this investment has two objectives. Yes of course, the first goal is always the safety and security of the United Kingdom. But the second is to create jobs, wealth and opportunity in every corner of our country.’
Adding: ‘You know – at times like this there is a lot of talk about the end of the peace dividend. Well, our task now is to seize the defence dividend. Felt directly in the pockets of working people. Rebuilding our industrial base. Creating the jobs of the future. The skills for the next generation…
‘From the shipyards in Scotland… To the missile systems built in Stevenage and Belfast…. The artillery barrels made at Sheffield forgemasters… And the land vehicle development in Wales…
‘Mark my words – the British defence industry will be the engine of national renewal. Because this isn’t just about increasing our defence spending… It’s also about reform and rebuilding.’
On May 9, The Guardian had this headline: ‘Hospitals in England reducing staff and services as part of NHS ‘financial reset’
It reports: ‘Trusts having to ‘think the previously unthinkable’ to make savings demanded by new NHS England boss.’
It reports that hospitals in England are cutting staff, closing services and planning to ration care in order to make “eye-watering” savings demanded by NHS bosses.
“Read my lips,” said Anas Sarwar, during the BBC Scotland leaders’ debate in 2024. “No austerity under Labour.” After all, look at the government funding coming the way of the British ‘military industrial complex’.
Bravo on Dave Doogan et al distributing this idiot’s (set piece) ‘question’, it will have all sorts of repercussions locally – The tourist trade in his constituency has already taken a battering, the last thing they need is this fatuous political point scoring to suck up, sorry, play his part in ‘honest’ governance.
None under 65 would have recollection of just how bad Portobello beach had become despite FRPB’s best efforts – Any under that age will possibly remember the MV Gardyloo dumping Edinburgh’s crap in the Firth until the late 1990s, by which time Seafield had been in service a decade – Neither Christopher 8 years old, nor his mother Margaret in her 30s gave a shit for what was happening in Edinburgh, and I frankly doubt either Curran or her Curran Bun do so today.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Liebare roaster, indeed!
Imagine trying to trash your country of birth to score some political points.
There’s not a mirror large enough for these people to take a long hard look at themselves.
I could say I pity them but they’re despicable for trying to hoodwink the people of Scotland.
Go! And don’t come back.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yep saw this on the previous post on TUS in a comment by rtpscott.
My response was ….
Yep this is yet another subservient Labour MP to Labour HQ , one Chris Murray, who took Tommy Sheppard’s seat in Edinburgh East/ Musselburgh in the 2024 GE.
He is my MP , well he was elected by others , but he neither speaks for me nor represents me as an MP.
However he does speak for Labour HQ and he does represents them, Labour HQ, in Scotland.
He is also on the Advisory Council of ‘These Islands’ , of course he is.
(I am sure he also , like Ian Murray, attends the ‘Scotland in Union’ Burns supper, as both they and he tries to burn all of Scotland’s chances in being economically successful as a nation within their UK ).
In May 2024 he tweeted:
“Sewage overflow is pumped into Scottish waters and it isn’t even monitored. There is eight times more sewage debris on our beaches than England’s (which are in a state too!). This is a scandal. The Scottish Government should act – our beaches deserve better”
He was called out for false reports that he (instinctively) made about Portobello beach in Edinburgh as in July 2024, Portobello beach, in Murray’s constituency , was closed for a short period after high levels of bacteria were present in the water. Murray falsely attributed this to sewage, but it was later confirmed by SEPA not to be a pollution related incident.
As to Labour and English waters and sewage pollution well the now famous environmentalist and clean water campaigner (and once the former Undertones singer) Feargal Sharkey has said that Labour “has no real plan to tackle the sewage crisis damaging England’s rivers (which the ‘I’ newspaper reported that he said was “damaging Britain’s rivers”).
Vote SNP in 2026 via a majority, as we do need to show solidarity against those Labour MP’s that some elected in 2024 in Scotland , while they were under the false apprehension aka misapprehension that they, as Labour MP’s, would indeed offer us a “change” but have now proven that they are actually a “Change” for the worse.
Scotland does not vote Tory by a majority yet that trend was well and truly ‘bucked’ when they voted for 37 Labour MP’s in 2024, forgetting the memo that states ‘Never trust a Tory’ (of any colour , be it red , blue or even Lib Dem colour Ha Ha)
Liz S
LikeLiked by 4 people
Had intended to comment on this performative idiot’s statement earlier – “Sewage overflow is pumped into Scottish waters and it isn’t even monitored. There is eight times more sewage debris on our beaches than England’s (which are in a state too!). This is a scandal. The Scottish Government should act – our beaches deserve better”
Sewage overflows do not exist, combined storm overflows do, but are not pumped (clue is ‘overflow’), the sewage at this point diluted by a factor of 6 or more by rainwater – Those likely to activate in storm events have fine screening incorporated at the spill weir, on the bigger ones mechanical fine screens activated by level controls, the chances of ‘sewage debris’ getting through any of that, close to zero.
In short, the only debris likely to be seen on a Scottish beach was blown there, dropped there, or came in on the tide from god knows where, but it sure as hell wasn’t sewage related…
Scotland has been retro-separating storm and foul flows for over 40 years, ever minimising the CSO problem – With Inspectors from SW and SEPA, and maintenance crews keeping a constant eye on things, you don’t get much better than that for monitoring – Scotland and now so far ahead of England and it’s privatised mess, it’s embarrassing, that’s the reason for Murray’s ridiculous theatrics.
Only the electorate of Musselburgh have the power to control the ‘sewage’ emanating from the ‘scandal’ which is Chris Murray, I doubt he’ll be missed…
LikeLiked by 1 person
SW and SEPA need no lessons from English Ministers on sewerage monitoring, or Scottish ones come to that….
This pillock don’t know shit, he just talks it….
LikeLiked by 2 people
Here is another one which might be of interest to TUS Prof John.All week we have had the Tory P@J doing an in depth study of NHS Scotland its terrible they say and now today we have our old “friend” not Iain Kennedy giving his voice to it.
https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/politics/6751665/inverness-doctor-iain-kennedy-nhs/
LikeLiked by 2 people
O/T tho’ another insight into ‘our’ British Labour Party government. Does the PM’s rhetoric reported below – that “the British defence industry will be the engine of national renewal” – make anyone else uncomfortable?
From the UK.gov website: ‘Prime Minister’s remarks at the London Defence Conference, 8 May 2025. (https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/prime-ministers-remarks-at-the-london-defence-conference-8-may-2025)
On his government’s policy for defence spending rising to 3% of GDP by the next Westminster parliament, the PM states (with my emphasis)
‘But look, I do want to be clear – this investment has two objectives. Yes of course, the first goal is always the safety and security of the United Kingdom. But the second is to create jobs, wealth and opportunity in every corner of our country.’
Adding: ‘You know – at times like this there is a lot of talk about the end of the peace dividend. Well, our task now is to seize the defence dividend. Felt directly in the pockets of working people. Rebuilding our industrial base. Creating the jobs of the future. The skills for the next generation…
‘From the shipyards in Scotland… To the missile systems built in Stevenage and Belfast…. The artillery barrels made at Sheffield forgemasters… And the land vehicle development in Wales…
‘Mark my words – the British defence industry will be the engine of national renewal. Because this isn’t just about increasing our defence spending… It’s also about reform and rebuilding.’
On May 9, The Guardian had this headline: ‘Hospitals in England reducing staff and services as part of NHS ‘financial reset’
It reports: ‘Trusts having to ‘think the previously unthinkable’ to make savings demanded by new NHS England boss.’
It reports that hospitals in England are cutting staff, closing services and planning to ration care in order to make “eye-watering” savings demanded by NHS bosses.
“Read my lips,” said Anas Sarwar, during the BBC Scotland leaders’ debate in 2024. “No austerity under Labour.” After all, look at the government funding coming the way of the British ‘military industrial complex’.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Bravo on Dave Doogan et al distributing this idiot’s (set piece) ‘question’, it will have all sorts of repercussions locally – The tourist trade in his constituency has already taken a battering, the last thing they need is this fatuous political point scoring to suck up, sorry, play his part in ‘honest’ governance.
None under 65 would have recollection of just how bad Portobello beach had become despite FRPB’s best efforts – Any under that age will possibly remember the MV Gardyloo dumping Edinburgh’s crap in the Firth until the late 1990s, by which time Seafield had been in service a decade – Neither Christopher 8 years old, nor his mother Margaret in her 30s gave a shit for what was happening in Edinburgh, and I frankly doubt either Curran or her Curran Bun do so today.
Who knew dishonesty and duplicity was genetic…
LikeLiked by 2 people