‘All politics is local’ may be a phrase which originated nearly 80 years ago in the United States, but it neatly describes something that happened across Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull this November.
With concern running high over the impact the Government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill will have on nature’s recovery, we asked our members, supporters and volunteers to share their views with their MPs, and to ask their friends, families and colleagues to do the same.
Hundreds of you did. Maybe even thousands. We are still working out the exact numbers but the total across England was 37,600 at the time of writing. Thank you so much for giving nature such a loud voice in a debate on planning policy which, quite frankly, is at times remote and technical - but hugely important for its long-term impact on wildlife in our communities and its chance of bouncing back.
While you were asking the Government to accept important nature amendments to the Bill, proposed and resoundingly supported by the House of Lords, we tried to meet with as many Labour MPs as possible (given the government’s majority and the very limited time window this made most sense). Of the seven Labour MPs in our area, we are grateful to those who agreed to meet with us before the vote in the House of Commons so we could explain our concerns to them and ask them to share these concerns with Ministers.
The MPs who met with us before the vote told us they had received your messages, and promised to raise your concerns with Ministers; both Mary Creagh, Parliamentary Under Secretary of state for Nature, and also Matthew Pennycook, the Minister for Housing and Planning. Your voices reached the highest levels of Government.
Unfortunately, the two key amendments which would have improved a piece of environmentally regressive legislation were rejected by MPs with the Government using a three-line whip to drive a vote against those improvements.
However disappointing this is, be assured it is not the end of the road – we fight on!
Despite the votes, yesterday marked some progress for both amendments. A concession was offered to explicitly protect chalk streams in the planning system (good though not relevant to wildlife in Warwickshire) and we are seeking further assurances about this commitment. If delivered well it could see the first ever national level protection for chalk streams in the planning system.
The main amendment we were pushing the Government to accept (amendment 130, renumbered to 40 for the Commons debate) attracted a lot of supportive speeches, including from Labour MPs asking their government to compromise. It was also notable that a significant group of Labour MPs abstained as a protest. The Wildlife Trusts were mentioned multiple times in the debate on the amendment, so we know that thanks to your energy our message is getting through.
The Planning & Infrastructure Bill now returns to the House of Lords. Our campaign continues and we are asking peers to insist next week on both amendments being added back into the Bill and for MPs to keep up the pressure on Ministers. Negotiations continue behind the scenes, empowered by the strong showing both amendments had in the Commons.
This ‘ping-ponging’ between the Commons and Lords is standard practice when legislation is drawn up in Parliament, and we will continue to try and meet with and talk to our MPs while it’s still at this stage.
In the meantime, watch this space, and many, many thanks for all that you have done so far to help. Local politics for local wildlife indeed.
