Politics of Water Fluoridation
This page deals with anything to do with government involvement with WF, be it party manifestos, debates in Parliament, etc.
Here are some of the highlights.
We have searched all the manifestos of the Conservative and Labour Parties and have found nothing in them which mentions water fluoridation.
The permitting Act of Parliament is the Water Industry Act 1991 which contains material transferred from the Water Fluoridation Act 1985 in which Margaret Thatcher legalised fluoridation. All programmes which were in place prior to 1985 were legalised by the 1985 Act which introduced the concept of public consultations for new fluoridation proposals.
The House of Commons debates saw the longest ever speech by an MP - Sir Ivan Lawrence - who was resolutely against adding fluoride to drinking water. Despite being reminded that this was forced medication, the Conservative Government won the right to legalise fluoridation. However, they had a majority of 80 votes with 400 MPs abstaining. It was supposed to have been a free vote but judging by the number of abstentions, it was clear that a 3-line whip was invoked. A report on the final debate can be found here.
Write to your MP if you don't want to become fluoridated
We have created a letter which aims at helping your MP get educated about the issue of WF. Clicking on the link drops a copy of the letter to the bottom left of your screen. Once it has opened, "Enable Editing", edit the text in square brackets or add information including your contact details at the end. Read the letter through thoroughly before "save as" with your own file name to your hard drive and email it to your MP as an attachment.
In 2024, three toxicologists wrote to the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer. No acknowledgement and reply were received. It seems that we can only get replies if we send them via a solicitor or make a Freedom of Information request. However, the latter action will only prove fruitful if one asks questions. Sending information has to go by a different route and the information lands up in the Correspondence sections of each Ministry. You sometimes get a reply but this is rare. The toxicologists' letter is reproduced below.
We're also suggesting that when you write to your MP, that you also enclose a letter from two scientists to Boris Johnson sent in December 2021. This was the second such letter sent to Downing Street. Both were ignored.
On 7th December 2021, the House of Lords discussed the Health and Care Bill 2021. Many Lords spoke about the main provisions of the Bill as they affect the NHS. Just 5 Lords spoke about two Clauses on Water Fluoridation which were eventually to become Clauses 175 and 176. They were designed to transfer responsibility for WF from Local Authorities to the Secretary of State for the DHSC, thus removing local accountability and potentially making 100% WF all the more certain. Perhaps the Government/Establishment perceived that not all Local Authorities were as enamoured of WF as others and didn't want there to be any flakiness in future while the Government tried to increase the number of people to become fluoridated.
Lord Reay made a really sound speech on the scientific arguments against WF. The video is appended below. Despite his best efforts the Bill eventually became the Health and Care Act 2022. Responsibility for all WF programmes thereafter transferred to the DHSC which is not amenable to the remonstrations of concerned people.
A Second Speech by Lord Reay in the House of Lords on 31st January 2022
A reason for not giving the SoS for DHSC the responsibility to decide on new WF proposals, consultations and decisions.
Local decisions:
"It is important that local people have local ownership over the issues and challenges in their area, because one size will not fit all."
Ref: Churchill, J., Hansard, Volume 672, 4th March 2020. Debate on Health Inequalities.
Jo Churchill MP was appointed in July 2019 as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Prevention, Public Health and Primary Care at the Department for Health and Social Care. She would not have made the above statement without first having been advised. So, why did the Government later reverse this policy in respect of teeth?
Social Prescribing and Personalised Care
These Modalities sponsor an individual's right to look after his or her own health.
The two Modalities are sponsored by the Department of Health and Social Care.
However, it looks as though that Department has got itself into a knot of gordian proportions in respect of oral health issues.
NHS Personalised Care: https://www.england.nhs.uk/personalisedcare/
Social Prescribing: https://www.england.nhs.uk/personalisedcare/social-prescribing/
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At the time of writing (October 2025), the UK Labour Party seems determined to continue the work started by the Conservative Government. In March 2025, a decision was made to go ahead with the fluoridation of the North East involving 1.6 million people. The Public Consultation ended in July 2024 but it took the DHSC 8 months to make the decision. Sound reasons against the measure were turned down on the excuse that they had all be voiced before and had been found wanting!
Since all arguments against fluoridation have failed, then the only recourse we have is to challenge the Government using legal arguments. Thus, FFAUK has launched a legal Group challenge against the Government. Currently, we are busy populating the claimant group. When we have enough claimants our Barrister will issue a Letter Before Claim to the Government's Solicitors' Department. Go to the Home Page for details on how to become a claimant.
We have identified a long list of legislation which challenges the permitting law - The Water Industry Act 1991,. The list will be published here as soon as we receive a reply from the Government's Solicitors.
