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Campaigners slam Labour's failure to restore Defra budget following clean water pledge
Environmental campaigners protesting outside the offices of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) in central London in response to the State of Nature report, September 28, 2023

CAMPAIGNERS have slammed the government’s failure to restore funding to the environment department despite promises to clean up Britain’s waterways. 

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has faced a series of budget cuts under the previous Tory government, including a 45 per cent real-tserm reduction between 2009/10 and 2018/19, according to an analysis by The Guardian.

Labour has pledged to clean up Britain’s waters and crack down on sewage dumping after spills more than doubled last year.

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