HUHNE JOINS DAVID SUCHET ON WATERWAYS PROTEST

1.13.42pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 16th Jan 2007

Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne took to the Thames today along with waterways campaigners including Poirot star David Suchet to attack the Government's proposed cuts in waterways funding.

A flotilla of boats - narrow boats and others - sailed past parliament to highlight the impact of the cuts on rivers and canals across the country and on tourism and leisure activities.

Waterways are the lifeblood of many communities in Hampshire, yet the Government keep making cuts

Chris Huhne MP, the Liberal Democrats' shadow environment secretary, joined David Suchet (pictured together in attached photo) and other leading campaigners on the M.V. Kingwood to take part in the protest on the Thames outside parliament and said:

"Our waterways are the lifeblood of many communities in Hampshire and across the country. Yet the Government keep making cuts.

"These short-sighted reductions could undo the extraordinary effect canals have had on the fabric of Britain's industrial past and on the revival of communities dependent on canals. Their impact is multiplied because it means that thousands of hours of volunteer help cannot be given.

"Tourism will be the first area to suffer with local pubs and restaurants hit hard, but the environment will also be hit by the under-funding of such sanctuaries of tranquillity.

"With the loss of many skilled jobs looming, the legacy of the recent funding reductions by Defra is likely to be a lasting one.

"Liberal Democrats strongly oppose these cuts as a false economy. That's why we will be proposing to reverse them at a special debate at our Spring Conference in Harrogate."

Locally, Mr Huhne is a strong supporter of the renovation of the Itchen navigation, the canal that linked Winchester with Southampton, currently under way in a project run by the Hampshire and Isle of Wight wildlife trust.