A pair of whirlpool ramshorn snails (Anisus vorticulus)
Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves (Homo politicus) amused by the thought of habitat destruction
and species extinction in the name of housing development and economic growth
I.
There are many reasons to despise the present British government and - to echo the immortal words of Bernard Brook Partridge - I would like to see Starmer and his entire cabinet dropped down "a very, very large, exceedingly deep hole", in the belief that the UK would be "vastly improved by their total and utter non-existence" [1].
To give but one of these reasons - discussed at length in an article by George Monbiot in The Guardian [2] - the government's new planning bill is tearing down environmental protections to benefit developers, and that is something I vehemently disapprove of.
II.
Just to be clear: I am always and forever on the side of bats, newts, snails, and spiders; all creatures that have been blamed by successive governments (not just this one) for getting in the way of urban expansion and economic growth.
Earlier this year, for example, Starmer called for the extermination of an extremely rare species of jumping spider [3] which, according to him, had prevented an entire new town being built in Kent, thereby denying the dream of home ownnership to thousands of families.
This turned out to be a mileading oversimplification of a complex issue [4]:
"What developers were seeking to build on the peninsula was not homes, but a theme park. But Starmer, making it up as he went along, had reduced the issue to spiders v people." [5]
Rather than apologise, however, a spokesperson for the prime minister simply repeated that the government was committed to going further and faster with its mad ambition to concrete over what remains of the UK's natural habitat.
And just last week, the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, proudly informed an audience of corporate executives that she had given permission for a large housing development in Sussex that had previously been prevented by "'microscopic snails that you cannot even see'" [6].
What Rachel from accounts doesn't seem to know or care about is the fact that this very rare little creature - known as the whirlpool ramshorn snail (Anisus vorticulus)- is "an indicator of fresh water not affected by sewage pollution" [7], so serves a vital role alerting us as to the state of our rivers and streams.
And what the public have not been told is that a new housing development will lead to excessive water abstraction and that this could not only damage or destroy the highly protected wetlands in which the snails live, but threaten the future wellbeing of people in the south-east of England as groundwater supplies in the region become increasingly polluted and ever-depleted.
III.
Ultimately, as Monbiot says, the new planning and infrastructure bill is a full-scale assault on nature; one that will "enable developers to bulldoze precious wild places" [8] and see irreplaceble ecosystems sold for cash.
And shockingly, "the big nature groups - the RSPB, the National Trust and the Wildlife
Trusts - with their combined membership of 7.5 million, are mute. They
accepted a series of government amendments in return for agreeing not to
campaign against the bill" [9].
England, my England in 2025 ...
Instead of raising the colours, those who call themselves patriots should be raising bloody hell against this government and protecting this green and pleasant land and the creatures that inhabit it. Rewilding, not flag waving, is what we urgently need to see; fewer people, fewer houses, fewer cars and more birds, beasts and flowers.
Notes
[1] Bernard Brook-Partridge was a high-profile Tory who served as chairman of the Greater London
Council's arts committee (1977-79). He famously described punk rock as
"disgusting, degrading, ghastly, sleazy, prurient,
voyeuristic and generally nauseating". The words I use here with reference to the current Labour government were originally said with reference to the Sex Pistols, whom he found particularly ojectionable.
Click here to watch Brook-Partridge voicing his opinion on camera in The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (dir. Julien Temple, 1980).
[2] George Monbiot, 'Wage war on nature to build new homes: that’s Labour's offer, but it's a con trick', The Guardian (16 Oct 2025): click here.
[3] The distinguished jumping spider (Attulus distinguendus) is one of Britain's rarest spiders, found only in two locations in the south-east of England: Thurrock Marshes in Essex and Swanscombe Marshes in Kent. It is a tiny species, just a few millimeters in size, with excellent vision and leaping ability, which it uses to hunt rather than spin webs. The spider is considered a conservation priority due to its endangered status and the threat posed to its habitat by development.
[4] See the report on the BBC news website by Helen Catt (14 March 20205): click here.
[5] George Monbiot, op. cit.
[6] Reeves quoted by Monbiot.
[7] George Monbiot, op. cit.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Ibid.
No comments:
Post a Comment