Delayed environment reforms ‘a bit meh’, says Labour MP

Legislation passes Commons despite concerns it does not represent a ‘landmark’

Luke Pollard was unimpressed with the government’s proposals (PA)

The government’s delayed environment reforms have been branded “a bit meh” by a Labour MP as they cleared the House of Commons.

The Environment Bill covers a wide range of issues from air and water pollution through to wildlife habitats and biodiversity.

The bill had been delayed multiple times due to a lack of parliamentary time and Covid-19. It will write environmental principles in UK law for the first time, following Brexit.

Environment minister Rebecca Pow has described it as “the most ambitious environmental programme of any country on Earth”.

But shadow environment secretary Luke Pollard was markedly less impressed, telling the Commons: “This bill is OK, it’s passable, it’s a bit meh, but it isn’t landmark.”

MPs today gave the Environment Bill an unopposed third reading, paving the way for it to be considered further by the House of Lords.

During its report stage, MPs approved government amendments aimed at halting the decline in species and driving a recovery.

But they voted 352 to 217, majority 135, to reject Labour’s amendment which would have placed a duty on the government to prepare a tree strategy for England.

There was, however, encouragement for hedgehogs with Ms Pow insisting the government would provide the “kind of support that is desperately needed to reverse the decline in hedgehog number”.

SNP environment spokesperson Deidre Brock added: “There used to be a TV gameshow you might recall called Bullseye where the legendary Jim Bowen consoled failed contestants with that cruellest of catchphrases, ‘let’s have a look at what you could have won’.

“As we come to the end of the long process of this Environment Bill a lot of folk might be thinking that it was Jim Bowen presenting it.”

Ms Brock added: “Protecting the environment and making some progress on addressing the climate emergency takes effort and fortitude and a bit of guts to tackle the unpopular things that need doing.

“I am not seeing any evidence that this kind of grit exists in Whitehall and that seems to me to be a great shame.

“Jim Bowen never had the environment behind that screen, but I can’t help reflecting on the fact that this should have been a big win and it is instead a sorry look at what we haven’t won.”

Speaking at third reading, environment secretary George Eustice said: “The decline of our natural environment has persisted for too long and as we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic we must turn our attention to recovery, we must build back greener. The pandemic has reminded us all of the difference that nature makes to our lives.”

Additional reporting by PA