Is it too late for the Tories to turn the tide on sewage?

Have Conservative ministers lost the battle on sewage? Once again, Tory MPs have been engulfed by a tide of fury from campaigners and constituents who say they’ve ‘voted in favour of dumping sewage’ in rivers and the sea. This is not the first, or indeed the second, time they’ve been on the end of these accusations, and frustration is bubbling over in the party.

I’ve been passed some WhatsApp exchanges in which backbenchers have been kicking up a stink about the way ministers and officials keep failing to roll the pitch on sewage ahead of key votes and debates. The latest row concerns a deferred division on 25 January on water regulations, which set a target for an 80 per cent reduction in phosphates in rivers by 2038, all of which sounds very technical.

Deferred divisions take place without a debate in the Commons, which means they are quick and easily overlooked.