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 potential pollution risks when approving developments. It will be debated on Wednesday. Gove and Coffey’s amendment proposes that instead of forcing housebuilders to invest in local wetland sites to soak up any extra sewage pollution and mitigate damage, this legal requirement would be scrapped and taxpayer money would instead be used to double the funds for a scheme by Natural England to reduce nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates in waterways. These nutrients choke the life out of rivers and cause damaging algal blooms.
It was unclear as to whether Labour would back the amendment. Lisa Nandy, the previous shadow levelling up secretary, seemed to be in favour of it, saying: “Labour will support effective measures that get Britain building, but it’s laughable to think that a prime minister who is too weak to stand up to the nimbys on his own backbenches can be trusted to deliver the housing Britain needs.
“With housebuilding projected to fall to the lowest level since the second world war and our rivers full of sewage, the Tories are failing on both housing and the environment.”
However, after lobbying from environmental groups, it appears Labour has changed its mind about unwinding the EU-derived laws, which were part of the habitats directive that is in place to protect the rarest wildlife in Europe.
Alongside Green, Liberal Democrat and rebel Tory peers, Labour could swing the balance and cause the amendment to be voted out. Scottish Labour peer Lady Young of Old Scone has helped lead the rebellion against the plans, and her research has found that the government ignored advice from its nature watchdog Natural England, which recommended housebuilders pay to clean up the pollution their developments cause.
Responding to the news from Labour, Gove said on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Today Labour claimed to be the party of home ownership yet tomorrow they plan to vote down laws that would unlock 100k homes. Sir Keir is seeking to end the dream of home ownership for thousands of families by playing politics. Labour are the party of the blockers not the builders.”
Rayner responded: “Yet more raw sewage from the Tory party.”
