The Guardian’s view on Labour’s targeting of nature: The problem isn’t snails, it’s a broken housing model | Editorial
II started with gastropods. Last Tuesday, the consultant, Rachel Reeves, told a conference of technology executives that she had stepped in to help a developer build about 20,000 homes in North Sussex, which had been disrupted, she said, by “some snails…protected species or something like that.” She added that it is “microscopic… you can’t even see it.”
No one could miss the direction in which the Chancellor was heading. The snail in question, the small Capeshorn vortex, is one of Britain’s rarest freshwater creatures, found only in a few locations and is extremely sensitive to sewage. pollution. But Ms. Reeves portrayed the matter as a bureaucratic nuisance. She then bragged that she had fixed the problem, after a friendly developer contacted her. It is a bad look for any Labor politician, let alone a Chancellor of the Exchequer, to boast that Green rules can be bent to favor friends.
The chart has been given Help yourself 1 day ago drought It was announced in Sussex, potentially giving water companies cover to breach their licensing obligations – including measures aimed at protecting snails. Ms. Reeves wouldn’t like to be compared to Liz Truss, but the analogy works. Three years ago, she criticized the gears of the “anti-growth coalition” of environmentalists, lawyers and regulators who, she claimed, were blocking Britain’s path to prosperity. Ms. Reeves puts the issue in the same way: growth is the priority, nature is the constraint.
But the public does not agree. Luke Traill of More in Common said at a fringe meeting of the Conservative Conference that most Britons could not be classified as “”NIMBY“or”yimby“They want both: to build and to protect the countryside as well. However, when asked whether wildlife should be protected even if it delays or raises the cost of infrastructure, every group of voters – including Labour, the Conservatives and Reform UK – chose wildlife. Among the general public, 62% gave priority to protecting nature, while 18% gave priority to protecting nature. Along with construction at all costs.
Treasury It is said It plans to scrap the green rules through amendments to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill – abandoning the precautionary principle, Shredder Species protection and reduction legal Challenges. The bill, currently in Lordsalready allows developers to bypass environmental obligations by paying into a fund to offset damage elsewhere. Under Environmental Delivery Plans, ministers can do this application Environmental protection in exchange for vague promises to improve the environment within 10 years.
Labour, significantly, is turning its back on Labor Dasgupta review. This argues that nature is not an obstacle to growth, but rather its foundation, a form of capital on which the economy depends. Not only does Labor reject this view, it is deluding itself by claiming that housing construction will be accelerated by then Reject fears About conservation. the Wildlife boxes He points out that more than a million homes have already received planning permissions since 2015, but remain unbuilt. The real barriers to building homes are the lack of skills, hoarded Land and slow delivery. They need to be sorted. It seems easier to blame snails.
Many workers Younger voters She already is tempts By the Green Party, which combines environmentalism and left-wing economics. Now, by mocking green protectionism and cozying up to developers, the Chancellor is giving these voters more reasons to abandon ship. The problem is not in Planning system. It’s a broken, profit-driven housing model, where banks go under and starve. The abolition of nature protection will not be built 1.5 million homesIt will only sweep away the confidence of the public and the countryside.