Senior party figures, including ministers under Boris Johnson and former Tory leader William Hague, have joined the National Trust, RSPB, Angling Trust and Wildlife Trusts in criticizing what they see as environmental vandalism. It follows concerns that Truss is targeting leading nature charities as part of a so-called “anti-growth coalition” it claims to be tackling. As MPs return to parliament, Truss faces Tory rebellions on several fronts in the wake of a chaotic party conference. Senior MPs believe she is now a “prisoner of the parliamentary party”, unable to push through controversial policies on tax, welfare and immigration. The environment has become the latest flash point. Former nature minister Rebecca Pow, who resigned over Partygate, has spoken out against the attack on nature organisations. Former environment secretary George Eustice is said to be frustrated with the way the policies he championed are being dismantled. Pau told the Observer: “The government needs to engage the full range of stakeholders when developing agricultural and environmental policies, including farmers and NGOs. They bring valuable input and are professionals who offer nature recovery and food production to the soil. “As Minister for the Environment, I regularly consulted them in developing the objectives of the Environmental Law to improve and restore the environment. Likewise, their views have been vital in helping design the ELMs to achieve these goals and set us on a trajectory for healthy ecosystems and sustainable food production.” Nature groups are now working together to mobilize their millions of members against conservative policies. With support for the Tories collapsing in the polls, the prospect of a mass desertion of rural Tories will further worry Tory MPs as they return to Westminster this week. The latest Opinium poll for the Observer, carried out after last week’s disastrous Tory conference in Birmingham, shows Labour’s biggest lead ever recorded by the company. Keir Starmer’s party has a 21-point lead, while Truss’s personal approval rating is the worst the firm has recorded for a prime minister. Truss used her conference speech to attack an “anti-growth coalition” that included the green lobby. Liz Truss campaigned in 2015 as environment secretary: environmental legislation could be cut under her plans. Photo: Graham M Lawrence/Alamy Wildlife groups are worried that rare animals and plants could lose their protection when the promised ‘fire’ of EU bureaucracy takes place later this year. Species are also at risk from government plans to create new investment zones. Truss’ development plan says environmental legislation could be cut to facilitate development in these areas. Although No 10 has promised to protect the environment, it has made no specific assurances about areas of outstanding natural beauty, areas of special scientific interest or national nature reserves. Nor has it stated that rare animals will be protected from development in investment zones. Martin Salter at the Angling Trust said: “Given the Government’s current problems, it is not enough to believe that they have chosen this time to pick a fight with the public and groups concerned with the protection of wildlife and the natural environment. The RSPB, Rivers Trust, National Trust, Wildlife Trusts between them represent over 10 million constituents. Add in a few million fishermen and countless others who are horrified to see rivers polluted and green spaces destroyed forever, and you have a massive “coalition of concern.” Liz Truss would do well to heed the advice of former environment secretary Michael Gove again, who has warned of the dangers of reneging on promises made to protect our rivers and natural environment.’ Liz Truss ‘growth, growth, growth’ speech booed by protesters – video Craig Bennett, chief executive of the Wildlife Trusts, said: “Restoring nature and creating a greener, healthier and more prosperous future must go hand in hand. Pitting the economy and the environment against each other is a retreat to the kind of outdated, failed ideological thinking that got us into this mess, not to what is needed to get us out of it. The Conservative Party was elected to government on the promise of leaving the environment in a better state for the next generation. He has no electoral mandate to do otherwise.” Meanwhile, Hague recently wrote: “The idea that we can choose faster growth at the expense of our environment shows a poor understanding of these trends – that we are biological creatures who need a thriving ecosystem around us, not gods who can renounce it if we wish. “Most importantly, it also reveals a misunderstanding of the future of development. The big prizes for growth in the coming decades will go to cities that can breathe, with the trees to support it and the wildlife to prove it.” The Truss government has also caused fury and confusion in rural Britain by deciding to overhaul its post-Brexit farming payment scheme, the Environment Land Management scheme. This was to pay farmers to farm sustainably, and also create habitat for wildlife. The program took six years to create, with wildlife organizations and farmers contributing. Many farmers enrolled in pilot programs having changed the way they work in order to be eligible for funds. While some in the agricultural industry complained about elements of the scheme, such as little reward for upland farmers, that the paperwork was difficult to fill out and that the government had no detail on how to be eligible for future elements, the farming world was preparing for the change. Many were shocked and outraged to discover that the government plans to revise six years of work in six weeks, without warning. Labor is now drawing up a catalog of countryside and nature policies and is seeking to defend nature organizations that have come under attack from the government. Jim McMahon, the shadow environment secretary, said: “Rather than dismissing the views of experts, who represent the views of millions of people, the Conservatives should be listening to the concerns of respected nature organizations about the impact of the planned fire on environmental regulations . “The Labor Party believes in protecting and enhancing our natural environment, not just because it’s the right thing for our planet, but because our nature and our coastal hotspots are a driving force for jobs, economic growth and prosperity in our great country. us”. Commenting on the Government’s attitude to nature, Sarah McMonagle, deputy director of campaigns and policy at CPRE, the countryside charity, said: “To compete with people who care about nature and the countryside is completely counter-productive. “Defra has been constructively engaged with the environment sector for many years and it is important that this continues.” A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “The environment, agriculture and economic development go hand in hand and we want to support our farmers to produce high quality food and boost our natural environment. We are not repealing our agricultural reforms, including our Environmental Land Management programs. We are committed to halting the decline of nature by 2030 and will not undermine our obligations to the environment in pursuit of development.”
