Rother Councillors Back Climate And Ecology Bill

Rother councillors have given their support to a high profile piece of prospective environmental legislation. 

On Monday (February 26), Rother District Council backed a motion calling on the authority to give its support to the Climate and Ecology (CE) Bill — a piece of potential legislation intended to cement in law measures to address climate change and biodiversity loss.

The motion, tabled by Labour’s Simon McGurk and Green Party councillor Polly Gray, also called on the council to write to local MPs and ask them to support the bill’s passage through parliament. 

Introducing the motion, Cllr McGurk said:

“This proposed UK law addresses the entirety of the climate and nature crisis based on the latest scientific understanding. It stands as the sole legislation before the UK parliament that ensures a comprehensive and cohesive approach recognising the nation’s emissions and ecological footprint. 

“Introduced four times since 2020, most recently in the House of Commons on May 10 2023, the bill enjoys support from 180 cross-party MPs and peers, 350 local authorities and 500 national organisations. Despite lapsing in the last session it will be reintroduced in March 2024.

“Members we hold a unique position at our level of government to engage with local communities, collaborating with concerned individuals, organisations, faith groups and councils. It is our responsibility to do everything in our power to limit and reverse the damage to our environment, ecology [and] climate caused by humanity.”

While the motion was agreed on a majority vote, it passed without the support of the council’s Conservative councillors, with the opposition group  objecting to what they described as a ‘political motion’.

Conservative group leader Carl Maynard said:

“We heard councillor McGurk add a little bit in, because the reality of it is; this bill isn’t live and this bill has no chance of getting through parliament this side of general election.

“In my time on this authority we have collectively put forward various environmental initiatives. Let me be absolutely clear, before we see the negative nonsense on Facebook tomorrow, we are all committed, I think, to … looking after both the local environment and looking forward to what we can pragmatically influence as a council and to encourage a mindset that promotes recycling and effective ways of reducing carbon. 

“Let me be clear about what we won’t do; we won’t just be signing up to party political motions that actually add nothing to the debate. This is obviously a general Labour party motion nationally that has been brought forward before us when the bill was still live. 

“The bill isn’t live, it has no chance whatsoever of going through parliament so this is nothing but paying lip service to something for the Labour general election campaign.”

Other councillors disputed this characterisation of the motion, with Cllr McGurk pointing to the bill’s cross-party support and its origins as legislation proposed by Green Party MP Caroline Lucas. 

A similar view was put forward by Liberal Democrat councillor Kathryn Field, who has cabinet responsibility for the council’s climate strategy. She said:

“I am not a member of the Labour party as I am sure everybody here knows. I am a member of the Liberal Democrat party and we have long, long, long supported green issues and ecological sustainability and have done everything we can to promote it. 

“I have no hesitation at all in supporting this bill, even though it is currently lapsed in parliament. It does no harm at all to let those who represent us at a higher level know what we think and perhaps even spur them on to doing more and stiffen a few back bones. 

“So, yes, I think we should support this, because it so clearly aligns with what it is we are trying to do on this council and have had a moderate success with so far.”