Leon Foster

Collecting all the things

[Duncan Stott 🏗️🔰🇺🇦 @DuncanStott]

Your annual reminder of how crap it is that our evenings are about to get plunged into darkness an hour earlier for the winter. It costs us more in energy bills and heightens seasonal blues. Let's keep GMT+1 all year.

[Mark W. @DurhamWASP]

“His deepest need was that people should like him. An admirable trait that; in a spaniel, or a whore — not, I think, in a Prime Minister...”

[Leon Foster @leonlen]

@FootballCliches @CDEccleshare @D_C_W Clichesman name in thing

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

The conclusion to my column in today’s Mail. Not designed to make friends!!

[Leon Foster @leonlen]

@SirQuinno Will look out for that one. The Maple one was very nice of the ones I’ve had so far

[Leon Foster @leonlen]

@FootballCliches @CDEccleshare @D_C_W Neuer in goal as Pep could have taken him along from Bayern and he could use his feet and so reason enough to displace Hart.

[Steve Loftus @LoftusSteve]

Lots of water nonsense going around today so here some updated facts with links.

Since the water industry was privatised in 1989:

• Drinking water compliance has risen from around 99.0% in 1990/91 to 99.97% in 2025. (https://t.co/90kGZUYiBi)

• Properties suffering persistently low water pressure have fallen from around 380,000 in 1990/91 to 42,783 in 2025. (https://t.co/qSZRZkWzXg)

• Supply interruptions have fallen substantially. In 1990/91, 0.42% of properties suffered an unplanned interruption lasting 12 hours or more. Definitions have subsequently changed, but Ofwat says customers are now around five times less likely to suffer a supply interruption than at privatisation. (https://t.co/U6fp6c1DY3)

• Leakage has fallen from around 5,000 million litres per day at privatisation to 2,869 million litres per day in 2024/25 — a reduction of around 43%. (https://t.co/Hn9ZJvAMkG)

• Household water metering has risen from effectively 0% at privatisation to 62.7% in England in 2024/25, encouraging greater control over household consumption. (https://t.co/lwstceJEuf)

• Properties at risk of internal sewer flooding fell from around 32,000 at privatisation to around 3,000 by 2010. Ofwat subsequently replaced this measure; on the current measure there were 1.83 internal sewer-flooding incidents per 10,000 sewer connections in 2024/25. (https://t.co/bAxPQNhs1E)

• In 1990 only around 27% of English bathing waters met the highest standards then in force. In 2025, 92.9% met today's minimum standard and 87.3% were rated Good or Excellent, despite tougher standards and many more designated bathing waters. (https://t.co/T2qSRYdp8j)

• Around 31% of written customer complaints were not answered within 10 working days in 1990/91. This had fallen to around 0.4% on the later comparable industry measure. The same industry-wide performance series is no longer published today. (https://t.co/lbXsQknlux)

• Sewer flooding has fallen substantially. Ofwat says customers are now around eight times less likely to suffer sewer flooding than at privatisation. (https://t.co/U6fp6c1DY3)

• Sewage treatment works compliance has risen from around 90% complying with numeric discharge consents in 1990/91 to 98.9% of sewage-treatment-work outlets complying with numeric permit limits in 2024. The permit regime and standards have changed over that period. (https://t.co/lRKPgDhHLA)

• River water quality has improved substantially on several long-term measures. Between 1990 and 2023, average concentrations in monitored English rivers fell by 85% for ammonia, 83% for orthophosphate and 46% for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). (https://t.co/HG7FUCQcwC)

• Water-main bursts have fallen by around 40% since privatisation, while around 40% of the water-main network has been renewed, replaced or newly installed over the same period. (https://t.co/U6fp6c1DY3)

• Capital maintenance spending is around 20% higher in real terms than at privatisation, while the industry has delivered around £236 billion of capital investment since 1989. (https://t.co/U6fp6c1DY3)

[Leon Foster @leonlen]

@StymieSi Cracker that one.

[Steve Loftus @LoftusSteve]

I put this together on the case against "sewage dumping has increased". It's just the basics from my threads on this and some other sources and is for those that won't read through the thread.

[Steve Loftus @LoftusSteve]

Every single privatised industry that was once publicly owned greatly improved under privatisation.

The hankering for public ownership as some form of remedy to the countries ills is pure fantasy.

[Leon Foster @leonlen]

@FootballCliches @CDEccleshare @D_C_W @Refsplaining How many foreign swear words did he learn over the course of his career?

[Leon Foster @leonlen]

@SirQuinno @seethelizards They’ll lose the appeal, but then go to CAS who will say they’ve timed out, again. And accept a fine, like you say.

[Sam Dumitriu @Sam_Dumitriu]

Some dismiss nuclear as a solution because it takes too long to build, but as the Guinness ad point out: "Good things come to those that wait."

A single nuclear plant, when finished, will supply more power to the grid than every solar panel in Britain combined.

[Leon Foster @leonlen]

@SirQuinno That better not appear in Glasgow

[Leon Foster @leonlen]

@FootballCliches @patnoonecricket @samhuxley @JonnyGabriel Spoiler alert! 🙈 If this isn’t 14-14 or 15-13 I’ll be back in touch to query use of thriller….

[Leon Foster @leonlen]

@FootballCliches @CDEccleshare @D_C_W https://t.co/6FMcUtIxwK

Technically correct, but we can’t have “level again” for 1-1 surely? Has to be a second equaliser or more. (Thought this was covered recently but can’t see it on https://t.co/EdZWGqOSQx)

[National League on DAZN @DAZN_NationalLg]

LATE DRAMA AT BRUNTON PARK 😱

The Shrimpers are level again, courtesy of Leon Chambers-Parillon!

[Leon Foster @leonlen]

Put more carriages on

[Oracle Red Bull Racing @redbullracing]

We’ve raced against planes and taken our doughnut displays sky-high... 🛫

But you’ve never seen us on rails before! 🚇

🔗 https://t.co/25gofpxTsH

#F1 || #SpanishGP 🇪🇸

[Leon Foster @leonlen]

@JoeBrownLondon @RobertDevaney5 Racecourses - Bromford Bridge, Haydock Park, Nottingham Racecourse, Aintree Racecourse and Wetherby Racecourse.

[Leon Foster @leonlen]

@FootballCliches @CDEccleshare @D_C_W I’ve not seen it, and I can’t picture this penalty at all. Unless it was a panenka, but you’d mention that. Can’t be having bundle associated with penalty at all.