Lincoln MP called out on fake blue plaque on the Brayford

A fake blue plaque calling out Lincoln MP, Karl McCartney has been put up beside the Brayford Waterfront criticising him for voting to block a bill asking water companies to dump less raw sewage into British waterways.

The sign can be found under the bridge next to the Royal William IV on Brayford Wharf and was first seen at the end of January earlier this year by Lincoln students.

The Environmental bill was debated in parliament in 2020 and amended by the House of Lords in early 2021. However, under the advice of the then Environmental Secretary George Eustice, the bill’s final draft was rejected by the majority of Conservative MPs including Karl McCartney, explaining his mention on the sign.

There are currently no regulations in place to prevent water companies from dumping sewage but according to the Environmental Agency, it happened 400,000 times in 2020 alone, an alarming statistic that led to the creation of the bill.

Karl McCartney is a Conservative MP who has represented Lincoln since his re-election in 2019. His view on environmental policy isn’t clear but he does express a dedication to Lincoln as a city on his official website.

While Karl McCartney was emailed about his mention on the plaque, he did not respond to any requests for comment.

This seems to be one of a series of signs put up by the environmental movement group Extinction Rebellion not only in Lincoln but nationally, calling out local MPs for voting against the bill back in October of 2021.

While the group have not yet taken credit for the Lincoln sign, multiple signs that have appeared next to waterways across the UK have been posted by regional Extinction Rebellion groups stating the objection to the bill.

While this is the first of these plaques to appear in the city of Lincoln itself, it’s not the first in the county, with a number being seen in Newark as part of a blue plaque treasure hunt highlighting MP Robert Jenrick’s vote against the bill.

Alongside the plaques, Extinction Rebellion has encouraged passers-by to take action on social media using #dirtywater. Lincoln students can use the hashtag above to find out more about Extinction Rebellion’s action in response to the bill or to get involved themselves.

Featured image via https://members.parliament.uk/member/4028/portrait CC BY 3.0

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