‘Bring it on’: Labour vows to fight Tories’ ‘degradation’ of nature in race for No 10

Environment spokesperson Steve Reed plans to tackle vested interests and expose ‘horror’ inflicted on rural communities

Labour will take on vested interests from water companies to housebuilders and farmers in an effort to restore the UK’s degraded natural environment, the party’s environment chief has said.

Steve Reed, the shadow environment secretary, said: “If the Tories want to have an election fight over that, bring it on, because the British people care about the countryside, they care about nature. They care about living in a beautiful country. They value their access to the countryside. The Conservatives are on the wrong side of all that, and to many, many voters that will tip their votes.”