Shortly after the general election was announced, The Wildlife Trusts commissioned a poll¹ to gauge whether the public think political parties are doing enough to tackle the nature and climate crises and how important environmental issues will be in deciding their vote.  

It revealed that the environmental policies offered by candidates play a big role in swaying people’s vote when they enter the polling station. Almost four in 10 said they would vote based on environmental issues and most people consider environmental issues to be at least as important as other issues facing the country. 

To seek to appeal to that large section of the electorate who care about environmental issues, the Labour Party made some welcome commitments on nature and climate, including publishing their own Countryside Protection Plan. Their manifesto explicitly recognised that the climate and nature crisis is the greatest long-term global challenge that we face² and they “promised to deliver” for nature by improving access to nature, promoting biodiversity, and protecting our landscapes and wildlife. Likewise, the Liberal Democrats put action to tackle the issue of sewage in rivers and seas front and centre. In Somerset, 6 out of our 7 MP’s are now Liberal Democrats with the other one held by a Conservative. 

Like many other counties, alongside key national issues of concern, Somerset has its own unique challenges. With its long coast and large areas of low-lying land, we are one of the UK’s most climate-vulnerable areas, facing increased risks from sea level rise, river flooding and drought. Water quality is an issue everywhere but of particular concern in Somerset due to the high levels of phosphate damaging the internationally protected wetlands of the Levels and Moors – one of the mostly intensively man-managed landscapes in the country. We are one of the two remaining areas where peat is still being extracted, despite it being a superpower for carbon capture and key for tackling national 2030 targets. 

With an explicit manifesto promise to “deliver for nature”, and a public seeking action, it's up to the new Labour government to deliver on the clear mandate they have to respond to the major concern the public have over the state of our environment.

Here’s five asks we think the new government should prioritise in their first 100 days: 
 

1. Deliver where the last government didn’t

The last government made a number of big commitments for nature – but then failed to follow through on their promises. At the top of the list was a 2022 commitment to ban the sale of peat for use in the amateur gardening sector by 2024. Despite promises to bring forward the legislation needed to enact a ban “as soon as parliamentary time allows”, no legislation was introduced before the general election to keep that pledge. 

Somerset is home to lowland and upland peatlands, amazing yet vulnerable habitats with unusual plants, birds and insects storing huge amounts of carbon. Peatlands need to remain wet and protected or the habitat is lost and the locked-up carbon is emitted into the atmosphere. Somerset is also one of only two English counties where peat extraction continues, sometimes directly adjacent to sites where Somerset Wildlife Trust or other environmental organisations are actively restoring peatlands, often with government funding.   Putting a stop to the release of carbon emissions caused by peat extraction can be a quick win for the new government. 

There is widespread public support for a ban, with the government’s public consultation finding over 95% of respondents were in favour of the government taking action to ban retail peat sales. A Bill to enact the ban is ready and waiting – it just needs to be introduced into Parliament. 

Similarly, the previous government made multiple commitments to licence the reintroduction of beavers in England. Despite a consultation in 2021, they failed to set out their proposed approach to further reintroductions and the management of the species in the wild. Evidence proves that beavers bring huge benefits to other wildlife as well as creating habitats that alleviate food risk and reduce the effects of drought. Vast numbers of wetlands have been lost in last 50 years – the fastest and cheapest way to restore these habitats is to allow the reintroduction of beavers. 

2. Kick off a review of the Environmental Improvement Plan

Last month The Wildlife Trusts supported a judicial review led by Wildlife and Countryside Link, a coalition of over 80 charities, to challenge the UK Government’s failure to consider a review of its Environment Improvement Plan (EIP), following a highly critical report from the official nature watchdog, the Office for Environmental Protection.  

For example the 2023 EIP promised to, ‘Publish a Land Use Framework in 2023, setting out how we will balance multiple demands on our land including climate mitigation and adaptation’. This is essential everywhere, especially for places like Somerset so we can plan the best use of our land and look for those multiple benefits e.g. finding appropriate space for farming, power generation, housing, improving water quality and natures recovery, identifying where these can be done on the same area. 

Politicians have yet to take sufficient action to meet the target to halt nature’s decline by the end of the decade, nor have they laid out clear and credible plans for how they would do so. Responsibility for putting in place a plan and meeting the target will now transfer to the next administration. A new Labour government must move on from a pattern of sporadic and piecemeal policy announcements, which individually may sometimes have some limited merit, but which collectively do not add up to a clear plan to reverse nature’s decline and deliver on our international commitments and legally binding targets.

3. Ensure changes to the planning system deliver for nature, climate and people 

It’s clear that changes to the planning system are going to be one of the first actions of a new Labour government. With the right approach, the planning system can help us to address the nature and climate crisis, as well as getting Britain building. Tools in the planning system, such as Biodiversity Net Gain, should play their full role in addressing the nature crisis by covering all developments and increasing contributions, and nature-positive measures should be built into the design of new developments from the start. 

A sensible planning system which values nature, protecting special habitats and places while providing homes for people is entirely possible as part of a wider Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) - something we have already been working with Somerset County Council on.  But with large construction projects such as HPC and Agratas in progress and significant road and infrastructure projects happening across the county alongside a review of NPPF planned, we must ensure all is done to protect key sites, manage nutrient overload and deliver BNG³ to support our nature recovery network. 

We know that nature is vital to us all – studies show damage to the environment is slowing UK growth, undermining prosperity⁴, and could lead to an estimated 12% reduction in GDP⁵. Designated sites, including Local Wildlife Sites of which there are 2000 in Somerset and a vital part of the county’s nature recovery network, must be protected within the planning system and protections for nature, such as the habitats regulations, should be maintained. It is totally unnecessary to set nature against the necessary provision of homes and infrastructure.  

4. Stop river pollution 

The poor state of our waters became a doorstep issue for voters during the election campaign. Sewage, wastewater and agricultural pollution are all suffocating our rivers and the wildlife that depends on them. It’s a problem that affects every single river, lake, estuary and coastal water in England and an issue that the public rightly want to see urgently resolved. 

In Somerset, excess nutrients, particularly phosphates, are polluting our rivers and damaging protected sites such as the SSSIs on the Levels and Moors. We need a joined-up strategy that ensures fewer nutrients enter our river system, and existing excess nutrients are removed – a strategy that promotes and supports more sustainable agricultural practices and the sensitive planning and building of new homes, whilst restoring nature. 

A new government should recognise the value of nature in being part of the solution – for example river buffers and wetlands can stop rainwater from overwhelming the sewage system and agricultural pollution from leaching into freshwater habitats – and direct investment towards protected nature sites, chalk streams and upper river reaches. Environmental regulators must also be properly supported to enforce basic regulation to maintain standards, and to support innovative solutions to water challenges.  

More support is also needed to tackle farm pollution, including chemical fertilisers, pesticides and manure, which causes more failures against water quality standards than pollution from the water industry.  

5. Get the farming transition back on track

The destruction of nature and the impacts of climate change are the biggest threats to food security in the UK. Without healthy soils, clean water, and pollinators, we will be unable to produce food domestically and will increasingly rely on insecure imports. Restoring nature on farms will bring many benefits, not just for wildlife but also for farmers. Working with nature can increase farm profits and resilience, reduce costs, and maintain or even improve yields. 

In Somerset, over 70% of land is in agricultural production with many smaller Somerset farms in farming families for generations. The whole food system needs wholesale change, and consumers play a part in that, but at the heart of the issue is the need to ensure that farmers are supported to produce good quality food and maintain healthy soils alongside improving their land for wildlife. In Somerset there are lots of fantastic examples of farmers showing how they can produce food, be financially viable and increase space for wildlife. 

The real terms value of the budget for environmental farming has already fallen by a third since 2010. Not investing properly and not giving farmers the necessary advice means everyone loses. Action to deliver Labour’s promise of a Land Use Framework to consider competing demands on our land should start immediately, to ensure we can protect at least 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030 and ensure food production in the UK adapts in response to climate change.