Fears of sidelining environment bills amid Tory leadership race mount
3 Min Read
Campaigners warn that critical legislation must not be delayed while the UK government is preoccupied.
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Fears of sidelining environment bills amid Tory leadership race mount
Campaigners have cautioned that crucial environmental legislation must not be delayed or abandoned amid the distraction caused by a Tory leadership election.
Ministers publicly concede that they have no idea what is going on with much of the legislation, but those who remain in government are working with a skeleton staff to get laws ready for passage.
So far, two ministers from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have resigned: Rebecca Pow and Jo Churchill, who were both working on environmental legislation that was being debated in parliament.
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Churchill quit on Wednesday, but she was due to be on committees discussing a gene-editing measure that would loosen restrictions on the genetic modification for crops and maybe livestock on Thursday. According to The Guardian, information has now been passed on to Minister Victoria Prentis, who has not resigned.
Prentis believes it is her responsibility to stay in government and get measures passed, rather than resign. According to sources close to her, those still working at Defra are "working flat out" because "the environment cannot wait until October," when Boris Johnson's backers have said he should remain Prime Minister.
Environmental land management program
Experts are particularly concerned about the environmental land management program, which has been chastised by the Tory right, as well as Labour and the Liberal Democrats. This legislation would compensate farmers for protecting the environment, and according to Defra sources, net zero will not be achieved without this new subsidy structure.
Other recent bills under threat include consultation on highly protected marine regions, which would prohibit all fishing in particular delicate ecosystems in England's oceans. This task was assigned to Pow and is now in the consultation stage. It is unpopular among many in the fishing sector and may be scrapped.
Other departments are likewise in disarray. Greg Clark took over as leveling-up secretary when Michael Gove was fired. Clark has been assigned the duty of deciding on the proposed Whitehaven coalmine in Cumbria, despite the fact that he has not worked in the department in years.
£20 billion Sizewell C nuclear power station
On Thursday, the government also announced a second delay in deciding whether to allow the £20 billion Sizewell C nuclear power station in Suffolk.
The leveling-up measure is also on the way, and campaigners warn it will undermine communities' power to seek better environmental protection and standards in the planning system, replace crucial environmental norms, and fail to link plans with climate policy.
Read next: UK Tories exploring ways to hold new confidence vote against Johnson
The treasury, under the leadership of new chancellor Nadhim Zahawi, will determine whether to levy a windfall tax on oil and gas businesses.
A decision on this is expected next week, and while it is a popular measure among voters, it is unclear whether Zahawi would pursue it, and whether he will close the loophole that would allow tax breaks for future oil and gas development.
