Meet the new environment secretary
Plus news on 🦋 butterflies, 🦈 robot sharks and 🪶 cuckoo tracking
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With the new government starting work it seemed a good time to take a look at the person with many, many environmental issues on his desk - Steve Reed, OBE. From river pollution to animal welfare, Reed is going to be inundated with requests for action so who is he?
That’s the question Politics.co.uk answers with this profile piece:
“Steve Reed was first elected as the Labour MP for Croydon North in a 2012 by-election, being reelected in 2019 with a majority of 24,673.
“He served as the shadow secretary of state of the environment, food and rural affairs, having been moved from the justice brief in Keir Starmer’s 2023 shadow cabinet reshuffle.
“He is viewed as a key ally of the leadership and, in his role as shadow justice secretary, was thought to be behind Labour’s controversial attack ad campaign, which initially appeared to accuse prime minister Rishi Sunak of not wanting to jail paedophiles.”
So far, so loyal leadership appointment then? A look at his record in the shadow secretary role would support that view.
The democracy website TheyWorkForYou shows he has (amongst other things) voted in favour of the preservation of environmental protections after withdrawal from the EU, improving environmental water quality and voted for financial incentives for low carbon emission electricity generation methods
You can see his full voting record on the environment here.
Away from parliament, he wrote forcefully about the sewage in rivers crisis for The Guardian in April pledging to “clean up our rivers, putting the water companies under special measures and making law-breaking water bosses personally criminally liable if they refuse to stop illegal sewage dumping.”
Livestock worrying
When it comes to the farming part of his brief, Reed spoke in favour of the Protection of Livestock Bill in May saying:
“Livestock worrying causes havoc for farmers up and down the country. The vast majority of dogs are lovable and good-natured family pets, and most owners are responsible and would never dream of letting their pet chase down, never mind attack, livestock in fields. However, a small minority of dogs are not kept under control, and run loose and aggressively chase down, attack and sometimes even kill livestock, leaving farmers to deal with the stress of their animals’ injury and death.”
Farming UK reported that the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) has welcomed his appointment, saying the industry "desperately needs greater certainty to give businesses the confidence to invest".
Robert Sheasby, AIC chief executive said: "The early general election means there is profound uncertainty on a number of essential policy issues left unfinished by the previous government.
"Our country needs a comprehensive, cohesive approach to food security with an independent, statutory committee providing a joined-up, cross-government strategy.”
But the welcome from Tim Bonner, Chief Executive of the Countryside Alliance pointed at where some of the more contentious lines could be drawn with hunting and the badger cull already being in the sights of activists.
“I would like to extend my congratulations to Steve Reed and wish him every success in his role. From tackling rural crime; championing farmers and producers; recognising the role of wildlife management and the value of trail hunting, shooting and fishing; and delivering a connected countryside, the issues facing the new DEFRA team are complex and broad. Both Steve Reed and the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, have talked about respecting the countryside and have acknowledged their own party's past failings when approaching our rural community. Time will tell if these words are put into action, but the Countryside Alliance stands willing and ready to work with the Government to achieve results for the countryside.”
Protect the Wild has already called for the badger cull to be scrapped and says it will be actively campaigning on the hunting issue:
“The deaths of countless mammals killed under the guise of trail hunting is justification enough. In the upcoming months, we will be campaigning for Labour to go much further than strengthening the Hunting Act though. We will be campaigning for the government to scrap the current law completely, replacing it with legislation that leaves no grey areas.
In his personal life, Reed graduated from Sheffield University after studying English and lives with his husband. According to his own website:
“Steve grew up in a working-class family on the outskirts of London. His dad worked in a print factory, his mum was a cleaner, and he was the first member of his family to go to university. He began his career in education and business publishing, and was elected branch secretary of his trade union where he won improved parental leave for mums and dads with new-born babies.”
The three most clicked link from last week:
Find out what’s polluting your your local rivers, lakes and coast
In other news
🪶 When did you last hear a cuckoo? I can tell you precisely when and where (23 May, 10:03 at Grinton). Hearing the distinctive call made me realise that it’s been some years since last heard one. Then I discovered that the British Trust for Ornithology have been satellite-tracking cuckoos since 2011. They look at how the different migration routes are linked to declines, and some of the pressures cuckoos face whilst on migration. You can find out more here.
🦋 Specialists in spiders, bees, flies, moths and butterflies, and plants, were amongst the group from the Yorkshire Naturalists Union who visited a Dales farm where encouraging wildlife is a priority reports Lesley Tate at the D&S.
🦈 A new aquatic robot, inspired by a whale shark and using cutting-edge technology from the Netherlands, is set to clean up the waterways in Leeds City Centre. It is the first project of its kind in the UK reports South Leeds Life
🗳️ A parish council in the Lake District has passed a motion of ‘no confidence’ in the national park authority. Lakes Parish Council said the move against the Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA) was due to ‘a series of ongoing grievances’ regarding its management and decision-making processes writes Daniel Hunt, local democracy reporter at The Mail.
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