George Eustice, the Conservative MP for Camborne and Redruth, is to champion the Silver-studded blue butterfly. Now virtually absent from four fifths of its former range, it can still be found in the heathland areas of his Cornish constituency.
Butterfly Conservation has launched a new beer – the Wood White – to support the butterfly of the same name. At least 300 pubs are set to stock the limited edition ‘Wood White’, as well as The Strangers’ Bar in the Palace of Westminster, where MPs, their guests and members of parliamentary staff will all be able to sample the new ale.
Derek Thomas MP for St Ives and the Isles of Scilly secured a Westminster Hall debate on the impact of the government’s 25 Year Environment Plan on health and wellbeing. The debate was attended by a number of MP species champions, including Richard Benyon, Kerry McCarthy, Rebecca Pow, Barry Sheerman and Sarah Wollaston. Bittern champion Thérèse Coffey replied on behalf of the government and stated she expects the Environment Bill to be the first Bill in the next session of Parliament.
MP Species Champions have been busy tabling written Parliamentary Questions pressuring the Government to act to protect nature. Layla Moran MP asked the Government about funding for biodiversity after 2020 and Hilary Benn MP sought reasons for the decline in water voles in England. Four MPs asked about protected areas for birds: Anna Turley MP asked whether Defra will classify the Bowland Fells SPA to include the lesser black-backed gull, while David Drew MP – Labour’s Shadow Farming Minister, Barry Sheerman and Debbie Abrahams asked about improving the protected areas network for curlew, bittern and dunlin respectively. The work and support of our Parliamentary Species Champions remains vital in our efforts to ensure that the Government protects the environment both during and beyond Brexit.
Issue number 6 of the Species Champion Newsletter has been published.
Matthew, the Conservative MP for Hendon, is to work with the RSPB to champion the Sandwich tern, a seabird that visits the UK in summer to nest on sand and shingle beaches.
Robert Goodwill, Conservative MP for Scarborough and Whitby, is to speak up for the sandeel, a small eel-like fish that lives in the seas around the UK and is a vital part of the marine food web.
Kerry McCarthy, the Bristol East MP and champion of the swift visited a Barratt Homes development in Bristol and installed a swift brick. The bricks can provide the birds with an unobstrusive synthetic nest site and are part of a major effort to boost the population of declining swifts.
Matt Hancock, the MP for West Suffolk, will be supporting the People’s Trust for Endangered Species by championing the hazel dormouse. This small mammal, with its large eyes and furry tail, can be found in some of Suffolk’s woodlands and hedgerows.
The Summer 2018 Species Champion Newsletter has been published.
