Labour is set to oppose plans to rip up EU laws prohibiting housebuilders from polluting England’s most sensitive rivers.
Angela Rayner and Steve Reed, the new shadow levelling up and environment secretaries, have vowed that Labour will try to protect the EU-derived environmental legislation.
In an article for the Times, the duo said the plan was “reckless”, adding: “The Tories are sacrificing nature for cheap political point scoring. Labour will speed up planning to build the homes we need without trashing the environment.”
Rayner said: “The Tories are being thoroughly disingenuous in suggesting that the only way we can build the homes we need in sensitive river catchment areas is by weakening environmental law. Don’t fall for it.
“Labour will table our own amendment when this is put to a vote in the Lords [on Wednesday]. Our amendment would force the government to launch, complete and publish a consultation within three months to consider alternative ways to reform nutrient neutrality regulations.”
Michael Gove, the housing secretary, and Thérèse Coffey, the environment secretary, recently announced they would be ending what they termed “defective” EU laws, which require developers to offset any extra nutrient pollution they cause in sensitive areas, under the habitats directive. These areas include the Lake District and Norfolk Broads.
Ministers are aiming to remove the legal requirement via an amendment in the House of Lords, which requires local authorities to ignore...
Nonprofit fraud is in the news a lot these days. Federal investigators in Minnesota prosecuted one of the largest alleged COVID-19 pandemic fraud schemes, in which several nonprofits and individua...