People's Manifesto for Wildlife: a reply from David Lammy MP to my letter

What seems like a long time ago now, I joined 10,000 other people on The People's Walk for Wildlife and then, as a follow up, I wrote a letter to my MP, David Lammy, asking for his response to The People's Manifesto for Wildlife that was launched at the same time as the walk took place and was delivered to 10 Downing Street. You can read about the day and the letter I wrote (in the comments) here.

I thought that maybe with the current crisis engulfing us, and which David Lammy is right in the middle of, that my letter wouldn't get a response but I'm happy to say that I have had a reply. With Brexit looming and the possible damage to environmental law that it could bring, Mr Lammy's reply very much focuses on a post Brexit Britain (which is understandable) but does show that he is committed to vigorous environmental regulations. It may not go far enough (for me), but we can work on that!

The letter from David Lammy takes the form of his letter to Michael Gove at DEFRA who is on record as saying that, post-Brexit, he wants environmental policies that go beyond current EU regulations to be tougher on polluters, encourage better farming practices and support wildlife, essentially the Greexit line which is that EU regulation appeases big business too much and we could be even tougher, however, I'm not certain if that would happen as I don't see Mr Gove as a tree hugging environmentalist (I could be wrong) and it's by no means certain he'll stay at DEFRA to implement the things he says he wants.

Anyway you can read the response for yourself  below:

Thank you very much for writing to me about our environmental regulations and the threat posed to them by Brexit. Many constituents have written to me about this issue and I want to reassure you that I share your concerns.
 
I have written to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. In this letter, I outlined my concerns and advising him on what I believe is the best way to ensure an ambitious environmental policy, should the UK leave the EU. Please find below the full text of the letter.
 
Thanks again for writing to me about this issue.
 
Yours sincerely,
 
Rt Hon David Lammy MP
Member of Parliament for Tottenham
 

“Rt Hon Michael Gove MP,
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs,
Nobel House,
17 Smith Square,
London,
SW1P 3JR
 
8^th January 2019
 
Dear Secretary of State,
 
I am writing to you to express my concerns about the state of our environmental regulations, should the UK leave the European Union.
 
Many constituents have written to me professing their desire for an ambitious Environmental Bill that will ensure our environmental regulations, which protect our trees, air, land, water and wildlife, are not made weaker in the event of Brexit.
 
As you know, current environmental policies in the UK originate from a combination of EU legislation and wider international agreements, as well as domestic law. In particular, emissions trading and chemical regulation are so intertwined with EU institutions and are so dependent on the co-operation and obligations of EU member states that our environmental standards are in serious jeopardy should we crash out of the EU. While I would first and foremost cite this to substantiate my deep conviction that the UK should remain within the EU, I must also take this opportunity to call for an ambitious Environmental Bill should we regrettably end our membership.
 
I am grateful that, in July 2018, the government made an agreement of non-regression of environmental standards between the UK and the EU. However, what concrete steps are you taking to ensure that the environmental protections originating from EU legislation are not compromised if we withdraw our membership? Can you guarantee that our environmental standards would not drop in the event of a no-deal?
 
I welcome the prospect of a new post-Brexit green watchdog, bestowed with the power to hold the government to account over environmental inadequacies. However, what mechanisms are in place to ensure that this body is independent, given that both the budget and the chairperson will be decided by the incumbent environment secretary? Will they also be provided with the power to impose fines, as our European institutions currently do? Will you guarantee that ministers are not only required to consider environmental targets, but are made legally bound to them?
 
My constituents have collectively called for the Bill to:

• Create an independent watchdog to properly hold UK government and public bodies to account, by upholding environmental law, championing citizens' rights, and preventing the roll-back of existing environmental protections;
• Set legally binding targets to tackle ocean plastic pollution at source, clean up our air, replenish our soils and restore nature and habitats;
• Enshrine world leading environmental principles in law, such as the precautionary and polluter pays principles;

 
We have a duty to leave our society in a better place than we found it. As Members of Parliament, we spend our lives toiling to create a fairer economy and a more peaceful society. Yet there can be no economy or society without an environment in which to build them. Environmental problems do not respect borders. They do not respect the borders within the UK; we must work together as four nations to address our shared environmental challenges. And they do not respect the borders of the UK; we cannot use Brexit as a means to renege our own moral duty to protect the world in which all of humanity subsists. 
  
Yours sincerely,
 
Rt Hon David Lammy MP
Member of Parliament for Tottenham”