ANOTHER campaign success this week. Important progress for local people who’ve asked for changes and improvements. Scrapping OFWAT (the regulator of Water Companies) and replacing with what we’ve been promised will mean tougher regulation and oversight.

We must build confidence in company reporting; stop the sewage spills; and in the meantime, put a stop to “dry day” storm outfalls, provide clear timely and prominent warnings to bathing water users, and see real investment in the clean-up.

Scrapping Ofwat and bringing in much stronger regulation of water companies to tackle sewage dumping is an important step forward. It’s a victory for local campaigners and was a key commitment in the Liberal Democrat election manifesto last year.

However, there’s still much more to do. We must keep the pressure up to force water companies to commit to clean up their act, rather than feather their nest. Since privatisation, they've collectively taken £84 billion from customers in dividends and bonuses. If that had been invested in infrastructure, we wouldn’t have this these problems.

This wouldn’t be happening without the incredible support we received from people across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly at the general election last year. The Liberal Democrats led the way in demanding tougher action against sewage pollution, soaring bills and bloated bonuses for water company bosses. I heard from countless people who were furious about the state of our local rivers/beaches and the water companies being let off the hook.

It comes on the back of the announced resignation (“retirement”) of South West Water’s CEO. But there’s still much more to do. The Board should go too. The company must be redirected to put public service, environmental protection and honesty and transparency at the centre of its operation.

I am grateful to those protestors for freedom of speech who ended up arrested by police last week. The government’s intolerance towards demonstrators they disagree with must be challenged. You'd expect it of totalitarian regimes. But not in the UK. We should defend the right to protest.

Our government should be working to stop the genocide happening now in Gaza, stopping the far-right Netanyahu government using aid stations as murder platforms and using starvation and withholding medicines and basics as weapons in its murderous campaign, stop the illegal forcible removal of Palestinian communities and land in the West Bank, impose trade sanction on Israeli goods, stop the arms supply, recognise Palestine, insist on an immediate and permanent ceasefire with the return of all hostages from both sides.

My protest vote against the government's proscription of Palestinian Action wasn't of course successful. I don’t support those protestors who commit criminal damage. They should of course face the full force of the law. But it hasn’t and doesn’t justify being proscribed as a terrorist group.