Labour MPs call on water firms to save Britain’s lost lidos

Tooting Bec lido in south London. There are calls for Andy Burnham to make water companies responsible for funding places for people to swim. Photograph: Ben Whitley/PA View image in fullscreen Tooting Bec lido in south London. There are calls for Andy Burnham to make water companies responsible for funding places for people to swim. Photograph: Ben Whitley/PA Labour MPs call on water firms to save Britain’s lost lidos Group, whose constituencies have derelict or at-risk pools, are campaigning to make outdoor swimming available for all Cooling, blue expanses of water have been a lifesaver for many lucky enough to live near a lido during the recent UK heatwave. Now, a group of 20 MPs, along with the Fabian Society, are calling for this relief to be made accessible for all by getting water companies to fund the reopening of the country’s lost lidos. A new report from the thinktank has called on Andy Burnham , who is expected to become the next prime minister, to use the forthcoming water bill to make water companies responsible for funding places for local people to swim, such as lidos. Lidos, or public outdoor pools, were built across the UK in the 1930s. The beautiful, often art deco, constructions were cheap to visit and were envisioned as a way for everyone to keep healthy during the summer. But by the end of the 1980s, nearly two-thirds were derelict or demolished. Where Britain had more than 300 lidos in the 1930s, only about a third were still open in 1990. View image in fullscreen Tinside lido at Plymouth Hoe in Devon. Photograph: Jane Hallin/Alamy Some are still closing down today, and many communities have fought to keep their lidos open. For example, the biggest freshwater outdoor pool in the country, Tooting Bec lido, was saved from closure in the 1990s by the South London swimming club, which took over the less profitable winter management of the pool. The former Conservative cabinet minister Penny Mordaunt campaigned for years to get the Hillsea lido in her Portsmouth constituency renovated and opened to the public, and memorably appeared on television in a swimming costume for the competition show Splash in order to raise funds for it. The lido opened to the public this year. Andrew Pakes, the Labour MP for Peterborough, successfully campaigned to keep the city’s lido open, after the council’s budget plans suggested it could be mothballed. He has started a campaign group of Labour MPs with derelict or at-risk lidos in their constituencies. He said: “Andy Burnham talks a lot about pride in place and this could therefore be a small but important part of his policy agenda.” Pakes has become a regular swimmer in the Peterborough lido since becoming the MP in 2024. “My Peterborough lido turned 90 this year and was almost shut down two years ago, it was neglected for years,” he said. “I helped to run a campaign to turn it around and it has flourished since then; 1,500 people used it on bank holiday Monday last week.” The MPs are backing a