Croydon (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Croydon MP Steve Reed receives political backlash and a ‘yellow card’ warning for close ties to water industry lobbyists amid public accountability concerns.
Steve Reed OBE, the MP for Streatham (who is also incompatible with Croydon North), doesn’t seem to be as much of a football lover as he has claimed.
In late 2023, when his guests were Hutchison 3G UK Ltd, the proprietors of Northumbrian Water, a notorious polluter, Reed, who is currently the environment secretary in Keir Starmer‘s Labour government, appeared more than pleased to accept £1,786 worth of free VIP tickets to a Premier League game at Stamford Bridge.
However, the MP did not accept a pensioner’s offer of a free seat at Crystal Palace, the FA Cup champions, during their final home league game of the season yesterday night (Reed missed a nice one, too: Palace beat Wolves 4-2).
The two of them are complaining about Reed’s too-friendly ties with the water corporations.
Davis criticized Reed’s hypocrisy for embracing the water company’s matchday hospitality while ignoring his real constituents while holding a cardboard cutout of her MP.
“My MP is Steve Reed,” Davis told Inside Croydon.
“He also happens to be the environment secretary. I need to talk to him about the water sector crisis – but he’s not listening to me.
I’ve written, petitioned, and protested to make him understand that private water doesn’t work and we need our water back in public hands. But he isn’t shifting.”
“I thought the only way to get Steve to see sense on public ownership of water is to do what the private water companies have done: take him to a football match and bend his ear.
He’ll gladly take hospitality from the water bosses, but seems to be ignoring his actual constituents, and the 82% of us who want water in public ownership. It’s obvious which team he’s playing for and it’s not us!”
Following Reed’s accusations against demonstrators, which the police later dismissed as unfounded, other people have told the Labour Party and the media about their experiences.
These acts show that Reed’s constituents have made a determined effort to hold their MP more accountable, open, and responsive, especially when it comes to his interactions with lobbyists and his stances on divisive domestic and global topics.
The environment secretary has ruled out public ownership of water and even prohibited it from being debated in his so-called “independent” water panel since his cozy gathering in corporate hospitality at Stamford Bridge and joining the cabinet last summer.
At the expense of the general public, Thames Water, one of the largest offenders of raising water prices and contaminating our rivers, streams, and waterways, has been permitted to accept a £3 billion financial bailout while continuing to give their executives enormous bonuses.
Matthew Topham, from We Own It, said: “Government ministers have 23 times as many meetings with corporate lobbyists as they do with consumer groups and charities.
“We know that Steve Reed has been ‘wined and dined’ in the past by a company linked to Northumbrian Water.
“Sometimes it feels like whoever has the most cash gets the most access. We thought we’d try the lobbyists’ tactic and dole out some football hospitality of our own. Although we could only offer a pie and a cup of Bovril, not caviar and champagne!
He said that the serious point here is that Reed is ignoring his constituents and continues to ignore the 82% of Brits who want water in public ownership.
They are giving the environment secretary a yellow card for cosying up to the water bosses. If he continues to ignore the public on this, the crowd might just turn on him.
What actions are being taken against Reed by his constituents in Croydon?
Outside Reed’s Croydon house, constituents such as moms, seniors, and locals held nonviolent protests. Instead of putting public interests first, these protests have centered on matters like his failure to back a ceasefire in Gaza and his interactions with lobbyists from the water sector.
In order to draw attention to Reed’s absence and seeming lack of involvement with residents’ concerns regarding water privatization and public ownership, campaigners have employed symbolic actions, such as carrying a cardboard cutout of Reed to public events.
Reed has received invitations from constituents to attend public gatherings and games in order to speak directly about their issues. Criticism has increased as a result of his silence.
Reed has been openly chastised by local campaigners and former party leaders in internet forums and local media for allegedly employing oppressive tactics and neglecting constituent concerns.