Rip up the REUL Bill, not nature laws

By Jess Price, Conservation Officer

The Sussex Wildlife Trust has been working hard on the Defend Nature campaign for the last two months. In partnership with many other organisations, we have had some successes with some threats reducing. However, we are still deeply troubled by the continued progress of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill. This disastrous piece of legislation will soon enter the Report Stage, a time when MPs can discuss the Bill and suggest amendments in the House of Commons.

The Retained EU Law (REUL) Bill has the potential to be a disaster for the environment, as it risks removing or weakening 800+ environmental laws that offer protection for our cherished wildlife and important nature sites, along with air quality, water pollution rules, standards for our ocean and much more. At a time when we’re facing huge declines in our wildlife, loss of local greenspaces, increasing pollution and a worsening climate crisis we need our nature to have as much protection as possible.

Our Director of Conservation Policy & Evidence, Henri Brocklebank, has been meeting with Sussex MPs to discuss the REUL Bill and highlight the damage it could cause to people and wildlife in Sussex. Alongside one-to-one meetings, Henri also attended a roundtable event in parliament with MPs. This was a positive event where Henri and representatives from the environmental sector could talk in detail to MPs about the risks to nature and local impacts. We have some amazing habitats in Sussex, but much of our most important wildlife is confined to small areas, and most of these small areas are currently protected through EU-derived laws, which are at major risk of being deleted on 31 December 2023. We've created an infographic to illustrate some of the natural assets at risk (below).

Many of the MPs we have spoken to understand our concerns, but they have faith that it is not the government’s intention to weaken laws. The problem is that warm words mean nothing against the law. The problem with REUL is that, no matter what verbal assurances we receive from government, it will give ministers sweeping powers to review, reform and revoke laws. This process will remove democracy from the legislative process, allowing ministers to decide whether to scrap or save legislation behind closed doors, with no scrutiny from Parliament. At the same time, it will likely bring Whitehall to a standstill, as civil servants plough through more than 2,400 EU-derived laws that need to be reviewed by the end of 2023.

As long as the REUL Bill remains, Sussex Wildlife Trust will continue to campaign against it and we hope you will do what you can to support us. Thank you to everyone who has already written to their MP and sent a #DefendNature postcard. We will also be forwarding the 1,300 #DefendNature postcards that we received from our members in response to our magazine mailing. We need to make sure MPs know how unpopular this damaging legislation is, and urge them to rip up the REUL Bill, not nature laws.