King’s Speech

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick Excerpts

Thursday 18th July 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Curry of Kirkharle. I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Fuller, on his maiden speech.

The King’s Speech—the gracious Speech—heralds a welcome step change in our politics, with a range of policies and legislation to be implemented by the new Labour Government under Prime Minister Starmer and his ministerial team. I welcome our Front-Bench Ministers, my noble friends Lord Hunt of Kings Heath and Lady Hayman of Ullock. I look forward to working with and supporting them in a positive environment where politics is a lever for economic growth, supporting and improving the lives of communities throughout the UK.

It would be remiss of me if I failed to mention a particular Northern Ireland aspect, which I welcome, although it is not integral to today’s debate. My noble friend Lord Murphy of Torfaen was particularly involved in this with me. I welcome the procedures to be put in place to repeal the Northern Ireland legacy legislation. I welcome the fact that, after working in consultation with all parties, measures will be brought forward to begin the process of repealing and replacing the misnamed and totally inappropriate Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023.

Today I will concentrate on the environment. During the last few days, I reflected on our Labour manifesto for the 2024 election, which stated that Labour would give regulators the power to

“block the payment of bonuses”

to the executives of water companies that fail to prevent pollution. It also said that Labour would

“bring criminal charges against persistent law breakers”—

hence the very welcome water Bill, which is in the King’s Speech. I kept looking at Twitter—now called X—over the last few weeks, and I saw my fellow countryman, Feargal Sharkey, highlighting the pollution problems with all the rivers throughout the UK.

This manifesto, and therefore the King’s Speech, committed to expanding nature-rich habitats, such as wetlands, peat bogs and forests. It said that Labour would improve access to natural environments by developing new national river walks and national forests in England. This has a direct cross-cutting connection with health, growing our economy and developing our tourism industry, which includes economic spend.

In this respect, I look forward to that further development and the outworking of the planning and infrastructure Bill, which no doubt will deal with those issues. The briefing note to the gracious Speech says:

“Change will take time. The Government will outline further legislation to fundamentally transform our water industry and restore our rivers, lakes and seas to good health”.


What shape will that further legislation take? I would like it if my noble friend Lady Hayman of Ullock could elaborate on that.

Like Peers for the Planet and the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, who spoke earlier, I firmly believe that this Parliament and this Government have the critical task of delivering the UK’s 2030 climate and nature targets and setting the course to 2050. Early policy decisions that drive emissions reduction will be needed alongside urgent action to adapt to physical climate risks and protect and restore our valuable natural landscape.

As a resident of and former public representative in Northern Ireland, I hope that the new Government can help to influence environmental policy there—although it is devolved. Perhaps the Minister could indicate when she intends to meet the relevant Minister in the Northern Ireland Executive to discuss joint plans for developing and conserving our whole environment in the UK, but also ensuring that our natural asset is central to the development of our economy and the health and well-being of all our citizens.

Our manifesto said that the UK faced a “nature crisis” accelerated by climate change and argued that the UK had become one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. It committed to tackling pollution in rivers and seas—I think of one of the largest lakes in these islands, Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland, which is again polluted with algae this year. There needs to be a means of addressing that. Perhaps the Minister could talk to her equivalent in the Northern Ireland Executive so that there can be joint action on tackling these environmental problems.

Our manifesto also said that we would improve the ability of central and local government and emergency services to respond to natural emergencies and coastal erosion. Will that be done through future legislation? Many of us have witnessed the devastating effect of flooding on our communities, businesses, environment and farmland. What joint action with the devolved regions, including the Northern Ireland Executive, will take place to spearhead action and the recovery of our environment, and in turn enable economic growth and the well-being of all?

As the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, referred to earlier, the Climate Change Committee produced its latest report only today for the attention of government, particularly on net zero, the economy and how we deal with climate change. I hope that there is in that report some food for thought for and assistance to our new Labour Government to help them address these issues. I welcome the actions outlined in the gracious Speech to deal with climate change, because the latest government analysis concludes that acting now to adapt to climate impacts could deliver significant amounts of money and up to £10 in net economic benefits for every £1 invested.

I welcome the emphasis in the gracious Speech on better management of our environment. It is worth noting that the Office for National Statistics estimates the financial and societal value of natural resources in the UK to be £1.8 trillion, and the Green Finance Institute has warned that the deterioration of the UK’s natural environment could lead to an estimated 6% to 12% loss to gross domestic product by the 2030s. Nature and the environment are vital to our economy, our health and well-being, and protection from extreme weather.

On a final point, I see that the territorial extent of the Great British Energy Bill applies to all of the UK. Northern Ireland and Ireland have a single electricity market, so how will this Bill fit into that electricity market, and what assurances can be given that it will not undermine the all-island electricity market in Ireland?

This gracious Speech contains the ingredients for successful conservation and development of our environment. Nature restoration, protection of our agricultural base and natural habitats, and the reduction in chemical pollution of our lands are all vital facets, and environment, health, well-being and economic growth are all interconnected. That is borne out by this Government, and I believe will lead to success for all our citizens.