Tom Collins, the Labour MP for Worcester, has been criticised by Worcester Green Party for voting against the reading of the Climate and Nature Bill in Parliament, a decision they have called ‘worrying and ‘irresponsible’.
However, he said he and the Labour Party were committed to making the UK a ‘clean energy superpower’.
The Climate and Nature Bill (CAN Bill), which had been due to have its second reading on Friday, would have enshrined the UK’s obligations around limiting global warming and restoring nature in law.
The Green Party described the bill as ‘unique’, as there is currently no legislation that connects action on climate and biodiversity.
The City Council Green Group leader Louis Stephen said: “Our Labour MP, Tom Collins, has effectively voted to block a piece of legislation that would have been pivotal in tackling the climate crisis and reversing the terrible decline of nature in the UK.
“Given the fact that we have seen an increase in flooding in Worcester due to the changing climate, it is alarming to see the MP for our city vote against a bill that would mean real progress on dealing with the climate crisis. Yet when he was a city councillor, he backed motions on biodiversity and climate. We need an MP who will stand up consistently for the environment, not fall into line when party bosses want him to vote against it.”
Leader of the Green and Independent Alliance, County Councillor Matthew Jenkins, said: “The CAN Bill had the backing of MPs from Labour, the Liberal Democrats, SNP, Greens and Plaid Cymru and it’s incredibly disappointing that it was blocked.
“This decade is make-or-break time for action on climate and biodiversity, but this government’s ambitions are very weak.
“It needs to stop burying its head in the sand; the longer it tries to kick the can down the road just as the Tories did, the greater the cost to people, nature and financially.”
More information on the CAN Bill can be found at https://www.zerohour.uk/news/
(Worcester Green Party press release)