King’s Speech

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer Excerpts

Tuesday 19th May 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (LD)]

My Lords, I congratulate all four of our maiden speakers, whose speeches were very moving and inspirational.

I have been reflecting that, if this were the King’s own speech, rather than the Government’s plan relayed by His Majesty, there would be far more on nature and biodiversity in it, as my noble friend Lord Russell said. That really is an immense lack in this legislative programme. Given that nature underpins our food production and what we drink, it is essential that we take better care of it. The only mention of it in the Government’s plans—it was not even in the King’s Speech; it is just out for consultation—is the trail-hunting Bill. I do not think that banning trail hunting will contribute anything to biodiversity; it is just a political choice.

What is far more important for preserving our British mammals and would command cross-party support—the noble Baroness, Lady Helic, introduced it as a Private Member’s Bill last Session—is introducing a closed season for hares. In England, they can be shot while pregnant, lactating or caring for young. However, Scotland and Northern Ireland have recognised how important a closed season is, and they have passed such legislation. I really wonder why the Government cannot just introduce such a simple Bill and do it.

The sad decline of hare numbers is obviously due to other factors as well, such as hare coursing and lack of habitat, but it does make recovery impossible where the closed season means that, as soon as the females are pregnant, they can be shot. The book Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton joins other remarkable books, such as The Leaping Hare, to show why we must protect these wonderful, iconic creatures, which are a really central part of our natural heritage.

I join my noble friend Lady Grender in welcoming the water Bill, but there is a lot of work to be done on it. I think it should be called the water and sewage Bill. It needs to be much bolder than what is currently envisaged. The fact is that, as the remarkable programme “Dirty Business” showed, we are poisoning our very rivers. I am very glad that the noble Lord, Lord Blackwater, chose to take the title of a river, because rivers need friends.

We are choosing to poison our rivers with sewage, but it is not only that; a lot of other things need to be addressed, such as the fact that the sludge that comes from industrial waste is now mixed with sewage sludge and spread on farmland. The run-off from that contains the forever chemicals that the industrial process is using. That is really toxic—it is entering into people’s bodies, including the bodies of our children—and is the sort of thing that absolutely must be addressed in the water Bill.

Finally, I ask the Minister what plans the Government have for educating children about nature. Obviously, there are forest schools and field trips, but we need our children to become nature champions. David Attenborough has inspired many, of course, but we need the next generations; we need the citizen scientists, who showed what was happening to rivers; and we need the activists.