Labour and Fabian Society Push Water Companies to Fund England's Lost Lidos

Twenty Labour MPs and the Fabian Society launched a campaign on 4 July 2026 demanding that water companies finance and build new lidos through forthcoming water bill legislation. The proposal would legally require water companies to guarantee minimum lido provision per population or area. Britain had over 300 lidos in the 1930s but roughly two-thirds were derelict or demolished by 1990. The campaign reframes corporate liability: instead of sewage-discharge penalties alone, companies would rebuild the public swimming infrastructure pollution has degraded.