A personal message for SERA members from Sue Hayman, Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Dear SERA members,

The Conservatives said they wanted to be the ‘greenest government ever’ yet they have consistently broken their promises on climate change and the environment, failing miserably even by their own standards.

In the last week alone we have seen Theresa May turn her back on our international partners in the face of the U.S withdrawal from the crucial Paris Agreement as well as further legal action launched against the government on their toothless and ineffective air quality strategy.

With Brexit looming, it is essential that we have a Labour government in place, committed to maintaining and furthering environmental standards, not watering them down in a hard-Brexit free for all.

Our manifesto pledges to oppose a Conservative hard Brexit that would prove a disaster for rural and coastal economies. Only a Labour government will prioritise tariff free trade and refuse to allow Britain to be swamped with cheap, inferior produce. We will increase the powers and remit of the Groceries Code Adjudicator to ensure that smaller British producers and suppliers are no longer ripped off by the big supermarket giants. 

It is clear that this Conservative government have taken rural and coastal communities for granted, with chronic underinvestment in transport, broadband, housing and the NHS. Instead of talking about these vital issues, the Conservatives have chosen to re-open the issue of hunting with hounds as a hollow and out of touch gesture towards rural voters. Labour recognises the huge contribution that the countryside makes to the economy and our sense of who we are as individuals and communities, and is committed to protecting and enhancing rural areas. Our manifesto commits to significant investment in clean transport infrastructure, housing and critical 4G and broadband access.

This Thursday there is a clear choice on what kind of environment, economy and world we leave for the next generation. 

We can be proud to be backed up by one of our greenest manifestos ever – a plan to get the UK back on track to meet our carbon reduction targets, clean up our air, protect our environmental standards post-Brexit and invest in rural and coastal infrastructure that has been left to crumble under the Conservaties.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at SERA and Labour party members committed to Labour’s environmental agenda for all your hard work and support during the campaign so far. 

Let’s use the next few days to promote our optimistic and progressive vision on the environment for the many, not the few.

Sue Hayman
Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs