Leaving the EU will put Britain 100% in charge of its environmental policy and we must rise to the responsibility. To that end, me and around thirty colleagues have signed a letter to the Prime Minister urging her to take up the Conservatives’ rich legacy of environmental protection this Parliament. The letter asks the Government to introduce a Nature Act to take up the EU’s work from the Birds, Habitat, Bathing Water Directive, create a Blue Belt of protected water around the UK’s 14 Overseas Territories, take advantage of the repatriation of the Common Agriculture Policy and shift subsidies in favour of paying farmers for the environment good, and restate our commitment to fishing to the maximum sustainable yield.
With determined leadership the Government can overcome the risks and take full advantage of the opportunities to ensure our living environment flourishes for future generations. The Government must demonstrate that it is Conservatives who will deliver on prosperity and environmental protection.