On Wednesday 24 May, the Retained EU Law (REUL) Bill returned to the House of Commons.
Thanks to the over 12,800 of you who emailed your MP before the vote!
You called on them to support the UK Government’s amendment removing the ‘sunset clause’, a dangerous cliff edge that could have seen environmental protections lost because they weren’t identified or reviewed in time.
You also called on them to vote for amendments made in the House of Lords. The first introduced a guarantee that nature protection laws will not be weakened, and that the UK will fulfil its international obligations. Plus a package of amendments which would strengthen scrutiny and ensure that laws cannot be changed without being properly considered by parliamentarians.
We’re pleased MPs voted to accept the UK Government’s amendment to remove the sunset clause.
But we’re disappointed that MPs ignored what nature needs, and what their constituents, experts and businesses had called on them to do, by rejecting all the amendments laid by Peers to ensure environmental protections would not be weakened, and parliamentary scrutiny improved.
Our campaign is not over yet!
We were encouraged by the cross-party support for safeguarding environmental protections voiced during the debate.
The Bill now returns to the House of Lords where we will work with Peers to ensure the Bill is amended again to reinstate the vital additional protections for nature.
The Bill will then return to the Commons for MPs to vote on again. (It is this back and forth that gives this stage in the legislative process the name ‘ping-pong’!)
This means that we need to keep up the pressure on MPs and work to ensure they turn the words of support heard in the debate into tangible safeguards for our environment by voting for the amendments next time.
We will continue to provide updates, and help you to get involved in the process.
Thanks again for all your support!