One of the things MPs complain about when it comes to Brexit – aside from its handling by the government – is that it means there is little time left for the Conservatives to pursue much in the terms of domestic policy. The one area which appears to be the exception to the rule is the environment. Since Michael Gove was appointed Defra secretary, there have been a raft of good news announcements coming from the department.
From a £140 million fund for developing countries to tackle climate change and a clean energy programme to reintroducing beavers into the wild and saving trees in Sheffield, the Conservatives are on a mission to rebrand themselves as the party of the environment. This comes as the Tories attempt to detoxify themselves following the snap election – where they managed to undo a lot of David Cameron’s modernisation efforts thanks to a combination of May’s personal endorsement of fox-hunting, a weak stance on ivory trade and an association with a hard inward-looking image of Brexit.
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