You may have seen in the news recently that the Government have rowed back on their plans to ditch all Retained EU Law by the end of the year.

Instead of scrapping thousands of regulations covering everything from environment to employment at the end of the year [under the so-called ‘sunset clause’ in the Retained EU Law Bill], they have now decided – sensibly – to keep all but 600 on the UK statute books … for the time being.

On the face of it, it sounds like something to celebrate. This announcement shows that all those months of campaigning and urging the Government to #DefendNature have started to register with those in power. It’s a big step forward, but we still have much to fight for.

First of all, The Wildlife Trusts will be dissecting the list of 600 laws that are due to be disposed of at the end of 2023 – 371 of which relate to the environment. We want to make sure no important environmental protections are lost. The laws due for the chop are listed as redundant, duplicate or superseded, but we’ll be going through them in fine detail to make sure no mistakes have been made.

Secondly, one of the biggest problems with the Bill still remains. If it is passed, Ministers will have powers to scrap or change regulations without any Parliamentary scrutiny or public consultation. So effectively, laws that protect our precious wild places, or set targets for pollution in our watercourses, could be ditched or altered on the whim of any Minister in Government at the time. As well as putting our environmental protections on a cliff edge, this Bill is an assault on democracy.

So even though vital legislation such as the Habitats Regulations and Water Framework Directive is safe for now, thanks to the abandoning of the sunset clause, there really is no guarantee of their long-term safety.

The Bill also still contains a worrying clause stating that any reform of regulations cannot increase the ‘‘regulatory burden’’. This means in effect that any legislation protecting our natural world is highly unlikely ever to be strengthened or improved, as this is likely to cause some kind of inconvenience to someone. It is shocking that in the face of a climate and ecological crisis some sections of the Government still view protecting our natural environment as a burden!

The Retained EU Law ‘Bulldozer’ Bill returns to the House of Lords for debate again next week, and it is crucial that nature lovers continue to apply pressure on local MPs and let them know we don’t want this Bill in any shape or form.

If we are to halt the decline of struggling wild species and restore our damaged and neglected wild places we need stronger, not weaker, laws protecting our environment. If you agree, make sure you let your local elected representatives know. 

The Wildlife Trusts are encouraging everyone to write to their MPs, and are working to support people in doing just that. Have a look at our Defend Nature webpage to send a post card to your MP for free, or download a template for writing a more formal letter.