The UK Government had been forging forward with a ‘sunset clause’ on the Retained EU Law Bill that would bulldoze hundreds of important laws that protect nature and people at the end of the year.

But the Government has announced (15 May 2023) it will scrap the ‘sunset clause’ and keep many of these vital environmental laws, thanks to the passionate postcards, emails and tweets to MPs from Derbyshire Wildlife Trust supporters that have helped raise the alarm.

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust has continued to call on local MPs to bin the ‘Bulldozer Bill’ – officially called the *Retained EU Law Bill – which threatens over a thousand laws that protect the environment. It is dubbed the ‘Bulldozer Bill’ because it could destroy laws which protect wild places and wildlife, as well as those ensuring minimum standards for water quality and pollution. 

Craig Bennett, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, says:

“We won’t be congratulating the Government for its decision to stop doing something it should never have even thought about in the first place. The Government’s Retained EU Law bill has been a shambles from the very beginning. Now it has ditched the ‘sunset clause’, which threatened to dismantle most Retained EU Law at the end of this year and posed an immediate threat to vital laws that protect nature and people. However, the huge problem posed by the bill still remains because it will allow future governments to revoke important laws at whim, whenever they want to.  

“Ministers should never be given carte blanche to pick and choose which laws should be kept or binned without public consultation or scrutiny – that is fundamentally undemocratic. The uncertainty created by the Government over Retained EU Law has caused huge problems for business, as well as organisations working to protect nature. Ministers must stop seeing environmental law as a burden because it helps stop more sewage entering our rives and ensures food is safe to eat. Given the urgent need to address the nature and climate crisis, they should be strengthening protections, not ripping them apart.”

This is a huge shift from the Government, but Derbyshire Wildlife Trust is concerned that some laws are still to be binned, whilst the Bill will continue to allow future Ministers, not Parliament, to revoke important laws at whim, whenever they want to. 

Whilst environmental protections are under threat, we need to act together NOW to #DefendNature. Contact your MP and find out how you can help.