There is nothing more precious and crucial in this parliament than protecting our natural environment and ensuring the government take serious action on climate change. 

In submitting my name for consideration as chair of the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC), I aim to play my part in ensuring that this parliament does not fail to grasp the urgency of the dual climate and nature crisis confronting it.

The role of the EAC is unique in that it does not focus solely on the work of one department but cuts across departmental lines, scrutinising the government’s environmental policies, those of businesses and other bodies and assessing the extent to which the UK is on track to meet its environmental goals.  

Having been a shadow Minister for the Environment in the last parliament, I am personally invested in ensuring that this government delivers on the promises it made in opposition. I was at the heart of Labour’s commitments on nature, water and wildlife and aim to ensure that work and the work of the predecessor committee is not wasted.

I happen to believe that fulfilling those commitments will provide electoral benefit for the Labour Party, but following Keir Starmer’s mantra of country before party, it is the responsibility of the chair of select committees to probe and expose, regardless of whether it causes embarrassment and difficulties for one’s own party. 

The early days of the 2024 parliament have shown promising signs, with both water and renewable energy being prominent in the early weeks of the new government. However many questions remain unanswered.  

On GB Energy, where will the balance between facilitator of private investment and producer fall?

How can the public be brought along in recognising their role in tackling these issues? 

Given that the scale of commitment to GB Energy,  falls some way below the renewable energy needed, what other measures will the government introduce to drive uptake? 

On water, what proportion of the re-investment in infrastructure needed to reduce sewage spills substantially, do the government expect the anticipated price rises to fund, and what is the plan outside of that? 

The government’s housebuilding targets are ambitious and non-negotiable, but how much of a priority will protecting productive farmland and wild areas be, and how will this priority be assured? 

The government has inherited world-leading Environment Act targets but the Office for Environment Protection is clear that the UK is not currently set to meet them, so what steps will the reviewed Environment Improvement Plan adopt to get back on track? 

These are exactly the sort of questions that the EAC, often working hand in hand with other committees, will need to explore. 

I know that the best Chairs don’t grandstand, and don’t need the loudest voice. The Committee must be a forum for robust, evidence-based debate where all members’ voices are heard. I am committed to ensuring that the Committee operates in a transparent and inclusive manner, engaging with experts, stakeholders, and the public.

I will look to chair a hands-on and informed committee that reflects the voices of people in every corner of our country, through engagement away from Whitehall committee rooms.

The climate and nature crises are urgent and I hope that the work of the committee I lead, will both assist and press the government and other contributors to the sector to get Britain on track to Net zero.  

I will work to ensure that the Committee’s reports are impactful and that its recommendations are taken seriously by the government, the sector and experts in this field.