Protecting nature should be at the core of a Conservative manifesto

This government is already doing some world leading work on environmental protection. We now have a national focus on rebuilding habitats and increasing species protection. But it isn’t always straightforward to do so. Take our housing challenge. We clearly need to build more houses. But we also must reverse the catastrophic decline in the number of native animal, bird and plant species. There’s one particular change I am pushing for, though I want it well before we get to the next manifesto.

There are legal safeguards in place for some of our most troubled species when it comes to new developments. One example is the requirement to provide a proper assessment and take action if a species like a bat can be found on the site. Other safeguards are less necessary. The newt is an obvious example. Protected in UK law because of its rarity in parts of the EU, in reality its numbers here are healthy and it should not be top of our priority list when much loved and vulnerable species like the hedgehog enjoy no such protection. Only recently, several hedgehogs were killed in Dorset when a developer cleared a site before starting construction.

But we should not discriminate in law between different kinds of vulnerable species. I want to see the introduction of a requirement for developers to do a proper assessment of what species are present on a site before beginning work. They should be required to relocate any that are at risk.

We also need to continue to develop our new support system for farmers in a way that reinforces our goal of reversing the decline in nature in the UK. We have already legislated for a system that will, for example, encourage farmers to widen their

field margins, creating extra habitat for animals, birds and plants. But we also need to encourage farmers to plant hedgerows. Too many have been ripped up in recent years with a huge loss of habitat. That will require some government support and rules that drive that change.

Finally we need to move our farming away from the intensive use of pesticides which has led to a massive drop in insect numbers. Their loss is also damaging our ecosystems.

We have the technology now to keep farming and building and also protect and encourage wildlife. As a party it needs to be at the core of what we do going forward