𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

At least 40 Labour MPs are at risk of losing their seats over ministers’ threatening nature with their house building plans, a report has suggested. A poll of 9,000 adults revealed that Angela Rayner’s proposals in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill are “deeply unpopular” in the constituencies Labour must defend to retain its electoral hold.

At-risk MPs stretch the country from John Whitby MP’s seat in Derbyshire Dales, through to Lola McEvoy MP’s in Darlington, and Anna Gelderd MP’s in South East Cornwall. The report, by ecological consultancy Arbtech, warned of a “green belt backlash” with Labour’s political danger being most acute in peri-urban and green belt constituencies, where residents fear urban sprawl and loss of access to nature.

Robert Oates, CEO and founder of Arbtech, said: “The tremors set off by the Planning and Infrastructure Bill are forging an electoral fault line. Small swings in nature-conscious seats could undo Labour’s gains from 2024 and hand victories to their opponents. Our research shows voters are not anti-development.

“They want new homes, but they also expect fairness and liveable communities. The Government promised that building more homes would not come at the expense of environmental protections, but the current text ensures exactly that. It is vital that ministers now listen to voters and strengthen this Bill, or risk alienating the very communities they’ll need most in a few short years.”

The Government in July changed its flagship planning bill to add better environmental protections in response to a campaign spearheaded by suspended Labour MP Chris Hinchliff.

The changes mean that new housing developments will now require a specific timeline for when measures to protect nature will be brought forward, including whether they need to be in place before the development starts.

In cases where rare species or habitats are involved, the changes also mean nature protection work can begin before a development is approved.

Despite this, the research conducted after the changes were put forward, found that the Bill’s provisions are not strongly supported even in urban centres under pressure for housing.

Experts suggested that this means Labour will be unable to rely on urban seats to counterbalance suburban and rural backlash to its proposals.

Some green groups are understood to still have concerns about proposals allowing developers to pay into a central nature restoration fund, instead of remediating environmental damage locally.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman said: “Our landmark Planning and Infrastructure Bill will unblock the delivery of much-needed homes and infrastructure, while also protecting nature and funding major environmental improvements across communities.