The most alarming debate taking place in Parliament right now is around a new Bill that threatens to remove Retained EU Law (REUL) from the statute book. As well as legislation covering our employment rights, protection of personal data and product standards, REUL includes 570 EU-derived environmental laws. Most of these are very sensible, providing a framework which has protected our most precious wild places and species for the last three decades.

The Bill gives the Government a deadline of 31 December 2023 to carry out a comprehensive review of these laws, and unless action is taken to retain, replace or amend them, they will automatically be abandoned.

These laws include special protections such as the Water Framework Directive (WFD), a key piece of legislation which was devised to improve the health of our watercourses. The UK has some of the worst rivers in Europe, and this law has enabled us to begin the process of reversing our long legacy of industrial pollution and river modification.

So what would the loss of the WFD mean in Stoke-on-Trent? Every watercourse across our city is already failing to meet targets for pollution levels and ecological diversity.  With the loss of the WFD, this situation could get even worse - we’d likely see more pollution in the River Trent and the many of the brooks and streams that criss-cross the city. Poorer water quality means our aquatic wildlife will suffer: we’d see declines in fish, water birds, mammals and insects.

This is just one example of how losing key legislation could affect the environment in Stoke-on-Trent, but we could list many more. REUL also includes legislation regulating what pesticides can be used in the UK, increased protections for native species such as the otter and the safeguarding of wildlife habitats within the planning process.

It is unrealistic to think that the Government will be able to review all 570 of these vital environmental laws by the end of next year. The Government has repeatedly missed deadlines on its environmental commitments, most recently the targets for nature’s recovery in the Environment Act, which were due to be published at the end of October 2022. They’ve been delayed with no new date given.

So, what should happen? Now we have left the European Union, it’s right that we review EU legislation. But we must do it in a sensible and democratic way. We need sensible regulations that safeguard the things we care about –from the food we eat to the health of our local spaces and natural environment. But we must take our time to make sure we don’t throw out legislation which provides vital protection for our wildlife and wild spaces.

Let’s not rush the process. Let’s extend the deadline for this important EU Bill until we have the time.

So, to repeat my original question; how important is nature to you? If it matters at all, please tell your local elected representatives about your concerns. Write to your MP or local councillor today – before it’s too late. For more information, see www.staffs-wildlife.org.uk/defend-nature