Gove launches attack on Hammond
Chancellor accused of being short-sighted for blocking ‘green Brexit’ proposals
MICHAEL GOVE has accused Philip Hammond of being “short-sighted” over Brexit and helping inflict a “damaging blow” to the Conservative Party’s “environmental credentials”, in a letter to Cabinet colleagues.
In the letter, seen by The Daily Telegraph, the Environment Secretary blames the Treasury for a defeat in the House of Lords last week that could force the Government to retain all EU environmental protections after Brexit.
It is understood that the Chancellor blocked plans to give a new post-brexit environmental watchdog the power to fine the Government and local authorities if they fail to increase recycling and cut pollution.
Mr Hammond believes that the proposal risks saddling the country with more regulation, which could undermine Britain’s competitiveness after Brexit.
However, Mr Gove – who has introduced a series of new green policies in recent months – believes that the protections are necessary to ensure a “green Brexit”.
The Environment Secretary believes that the defeat over the post-brexit environmental policy was the “entirely predictable and avoidable” result of the Chancellor’s opposition to his plans for a new green watchdog.
Mr Gove says that the Treasury’s opposition resulted in a “weak” consultation on the watchdog proposal, which fell short of the Prime Minister’s pledge to strengthen and enhance environmental protections after Brexit.
However a Treasury source said: “It is clearly wrong to blame the Treasury for this. Philip has worked closely with Michael to support the Government’s environmental agenda, including on plans for a plastic waste tax.”
Mr Hammond and other Cabinet ministers have argued against giving the green watchdog greater powers amid concerns it would lead to bureaucracy that will damage the post-brexit economy.
Mr Gove says in the letter: “As I explained at Cabinet on Tuesday [of last week], the short-sightedness of the Treasury has now led to an entirely predictable and avoidable defeat on the EU Withdrawal Bill and inflicted a damaging blow to the Government’s environmental credentials.”
The EU Withdrawal Bill will return to the Commons within weeks after the Lords inflicted 15 defeats on the Government, including on the environmental protections amendment.
Mr Gove says that the Government will have to make “significant concessions” to overturn the amendment, including as an “absolute minimum” giving the green watchdog the power to take the Government to court and issue fines. He says that it was “critical that we now confront the reality of our position”, adding that ministers “cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of recent weeks and have the Government’s environmental credibility further undermined”.
In the letter, sent to ministers on Thursday, Mr Gove says he warned in Cabinet last week that the Government would face defeat in the Lords because of the “reality of the parliamentary arithmetic”.
Mr Gove says in the letter: “Defra argued that if we were to deliver the
Government’s promises our proposals must at the very least replicate the status quo – specifically the enforcement powers of the European Commission and maintenance of the principles in legislation.
“More than that, we argued that the reality of the parliamentary arithmetic meant we would be defeated if we chose to publish a weak consultation.
“Defra’s arguments were not accepted as a result of Treasury opposition.”
Two Cabinet sources told The Daily Telegraph that the Prime Minister rebuked Mr Gove for his intervention during the meeting.
Ministers lost the vote the following day, when the Lords voted by a majority of 294 to 244 to ensure that the EU’S environmental protections are retained.
The Government published a consultation on plans for a new green watchdog earlier this month which was described as “toothless” by environmental groups.
The consultation suggests that the new body may have the authority to issue only advisory notices, unlike the European Commission which can take legal action against the Government for failing to observe environmental laws and ultimately impose fines.
The Environment Secretary’s plans were watered down after a backlash from Mr Hammond and other Cabinet ministers. A senior Conservative source said: “No Conservative wants more red tape after Brexit.”
The letter was passed to The Daily Telegraph by a Whitehall source from outside Defra and the Treasury, who described the row as “extraordinary even by the Cabinet’s standards”.
Mr Gove’s intervention is particularly sensitive as the Prime Minister has put plans for a green Brexit at the heart of her domestic agenda. She personally launched the Government’s 25-year environmental strategy, alongside Mr Gove.
The Environment Secretary yesterday published a Clean Air Strategy, which included a crackdown on polluting wood-burning stoves.
He told BBC Radio 4 yesterday: “We outside the EU are going to have higher environmental standards in every area.”