We have submitted our response to the Labour Party’s National Policy Forum, focusing our submission on the MAKE BRITAIN A CLEAN ENERGY SUPERPOWER – Restoring our natural environment. You can read our response here.
An overview of SERA’s submission
As a membership organisation, our members are central to our work, and this submission is shaped by SERA members’ views. Between December 2025 and March 2026, we ran a member survey to identify our members’ policy priorities.[1] The key finding was that the Government should now prioritise strategic action to restore and protect nature, with many members disappointed by the rhetoric and policies of frontbench leaders that wrongly pitched nature and growth against each other. This analysis was shared by many of the stakeholders who took part in our stakeholder policy survey.[2]
As members and stakeholders noted, nature is fundamental to human health and wellbeing, thriving communities, food production, UK security and climate resilience and – to the UK’s economic strength. The UK simply cannot prosper without action to reverse biodiversity and habitat loss and rebuild and secure ecosystems, as reflected in the stark warnings of the Government’s national security assessment ‘Global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security’.[3]
While members raised concerns about the Government’s approach to nature, most members were enthusiastic about the direction and outputs of the Secretary of State Ed Miliband and his team at Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). There was significant support for DESNZ to go further and faster, such as through stopping the Rosebank and Jackdaw gas and oil fields. On the other hand, there were mixed views on the Government’s record on water reform. While noting some progress, many members were concerned that the Government lacks a sense of urgency on water reform and has not recognised the scale of reforms needed, which should include nationalisation of the water sector.
In our responses to the questions posed by the policy commission, this submission presents our surveys’ findings in more detail, and outlines SERA’s work to further key issues identified. As ever, we look forward to working with the Party and our elected representatives to deliver bold environmental action.
[1] Between December 2025-March 2026, 90 members responded to the SERA member survey on policy priorities
[2] Between December 2025-March 2026, 27 stakeholders responded to the SERA stakeholder survey on policy priorities
[3] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/696e0eae719d837d69afc7de/National_security_assessment_-_global_biodiversity_loss__ecosystem_collapse_and_national_security.pdf