When Amendment 130 and 94 returned to the House of Commons on the 13th of November, in the form of Lords amendments 38 and 40, the Government put down motions to disagree, meaning they did not support the amendments. I recognise how important the content of these amendments were many constituents who contacted me about them, so I am proud to say that I and my Conservative colleagues voted No to the Government’s motions, or, in other words, to support both amendments made by the Lords. Unfortunately, the Government used their super majority to crush any chance of these amendments passing.
My colleagues in the Shadow Housing, Communities and Local Government team, led by Sir James Cleverly MP, have worked across both houses to push the Government to improve this Bill. Ultimately, however, for some the bill fails to balance the need to protect nature and the need to streamline the planning process. There is still a grave lack of clarity about how the measures in the Bill will support the ambitions to balance the delivery of new homes and infrastructure with the needs to protect the natural environment that we all cherish.
Kieran