When you have as enjoyable time as I did on Tuesday at the Rally for Nature, it’s difficult not to keep thinking back to it. It’s also wrong not to keep thinking back to it. Here are just a few thoughts and a few photographs.
Really good to see Charlie Moores, one of the leading players in Birders Against Wildlife Crime at the Rally. Charlie missed out on getting drenched on Hen Harrier Day because he was back home tweeting and keeping in touch with what was going on across the country.
And I was wearing a BAWC pin badge too.
I’ll say again that it was really good to see staff and members of the three organising organisations, RSPB, Wildlife Trusts and LACS, mixing together through the day and chatting amiably. I was slightly surprised how many people told me that they were members of all three organisations.
I wasn’t surprised that many attendees at the rally said that they were delighted to see these three NGOs working together and that they were pleased to see Butterfly Conservation, the Ramblers and the Mammal Society working together. There was a lot of ‘We’re all on the same side really, aren’t we?’ going on, and in this case it seemed to be true.
I also wasn’t surprised that some people asked me why others hadn’t signed up. Several members of the National Trust, some of them from near the Peak District (but not all of them) were particularly critical of NT for being absent.
I wasn’t sure what to say about this as I know that all Wildlife and Countryside Link members had been asked whether they would like to support the rally. It may well be that they didn’t have quite enough time to make this decision within their decision-making process because they would only have a had a few weeks to say yes or no. I’m not sure, If you are a member of an organisation which was absent then maybe ask them why.
The GWCT’s Communications Director, Andrew Gilruth was present though. Perhaps it was his great love for the Hen Harrier that made him come but maybe it was a penance for wrongly slagging off the RSPB last month. Maybe Andrew took a day off work to rally for the Birds Directive, a Nature and Well-being Act and against wildlife crime? Or maybe he was just keeping an eye on what we were all up too. He could have been up in London doing his Christmas shopping for all I know.
There is that squirrel Bob with his mates a Fox and a Badger. It was quite amusing seeing the looks of passers-by on the streets as they passed three giant mammals. I spoke to the two ladies who disappeared into the squirrel and fox outfits and saw them later looking decidedly warm after their walks. Also, I had a conversation with the fox while we were having some photographs taken – it’s all a bit weird looking into the eyes of a six foot tall fox.
That’s obviously Bill Oddie in the photo too and it was good to see him. He asked a question in the Q&A session along the lines of ‘Why isn’t more happening to solve these problems for wildlife? Will we be back here year after year posing the same questions?’. It was good to hear Bill eager for action.
Also in the photo above are Kerry McCarthy MP (Lab, Bristol East) who spoke very well at the rally and the Chief Executive of the League Against Cruel Sports, Joe Duckworth whom I hardly know but who seems a very nice man.
Having mentioned Kerry, I should mention again that Caroline Lucas (Green, Brighton Pavilion), Julian Huppert (LibDem, Cambridge) and Sir John Randall (Con, Uxbridge and South Ruislip) also spoke at the rally and there attendance was greatly appreciated by all. And having mentioned Joe, I should mention that Mike Clarke spent some time with us even though he had a meeting of RSPB Council that day.
A few other MPs attended even though they didn’t have speaking roles. I’m not sure who they all were but, of course, I recognised Barry Gardiner (Lab, Brent South) who was the only MP who can claim also to have been one of the ‘Sodden570’ in the Peak District on Hen Harrier Day. Barry has a very good record on these matters – and is a Shadow Defra Minister of course (and a previous Defra minister).
I met my MP, Andy Sawford (Lab, Corby) in Portcullis House and he bought me a cup of tea which was very kind of him. We had a chat about the rally and about how Labour could appeal more to voters like myself who care passionately about social justice but also about being fair to the rest of life with whom we share this planet. I must start delivering those 400 leaflets for Andy that are sitting by my front door. Maybe this evening.
I’d be interested in feedback from any of you who emailed your MP saying that you would attend and asking to see them, or who emailed about nature and asked for their views. There were quite a few people muttering about poor replies or no replies and we can use this blog to highlight some of the ‘good’ MPs (like mine) and some of the less good ones too.
In the photo above, you can see Martin Harper (RSPB, Conservation Director) and Stephen Trotter (Wildlife Trusts, Director England) standing side by side – good to see!
We didn’t see much wildlife as we walked the short distance to the Palace of Westminster, so it’s a good job we brought a Squirrel, Badger and Fox with us, but a Ring-necked Parakeet squawked its support from a tree by Westminster Abbey.
We said ‘Good Afternoon’ to people we passed on the pavement and many smiled and said ‘Well done’ and we waved our placards at passing buses and taxis and got some smiles and waves from bus passengers and some hoots of support from the taxi drivers.
As we neared Parliament in the first session, Lord Paddy Ashdown was leaving it, and so we engaged him in conversation and got a firm promise from him that the LibDems would deliver ‘everything’ if they got into power. From the look of the polls he was safe to promise the world, but seriously, it was very nice of him to stop and chat for a few moments.
There were a few Hen Harrier Day T-shirts present on the day, and quite a lot of people who had been in the Derwent Valley two days before the grouse shooting season opened, were in Westminster the day before it closed. Nobody supports wildlife crime and it was good to highlight this issue once more. We will keep doing it until there is a solution.
One very easy solution, which is also a means of mitigating climate change and reducing water bills, is to ban driven grouse shooting. It would be a lovely Christmas present if the e-petition were to reach 20,000 by 25 December. It may take a little longer but we’ll get there soon. Thank you to all who have signed so far.
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It was a great day Mark, very enjoyable. I got to see my MP, John Howell in the morning as he was completely tied up in the afternoon. It took a few persistent e-mails to him over the preceeding ten days but managed to get a confirming reply at about 6.00pm Monday evening. He is a reserved character,. We talked about all three issues including the Birds and Habitats Directives and how it is absolutely essential they remain as they are and are not weakened. In our conversation I said that the problems of the Euro Zone are very much to do with the fact that countries like Germany and Greece, for example, are trying to run such diverse economies under a common currency and that the Directives have nothing to do with the Euro Zone’s problems. He replied that he fully agreed with me.
As you say Mark it was great to see so many conservation organisations working together for the Rally. This is important as it gives added strenght to our causes and presumably shares the costs a bit. I am sure more of this working together in the future is the way ahead and would benefit to all the organisations participating
I fully support Alan Parfitt’s comments and the efforts of Mark Avery and the others that made it to the rally. I clicked on the “dislikes” as I wanted to know what they were saying, only to find that I added to the “dislike” tally! Not what I intended. I wonder if others have done the same?
I learned that lesson some while ago, Hilary. Perhaps Mark knows who presses the dislike button but we can’t see them. A problem I also get sometimes is when using a small mobile touchscreen I clip the dislike button by mistake as they’re so close together!
Lets hope some MPs take notice.
Regarding GWCT they decided that posting a link to their petition to publish the hen harrier action plan on twitter and tagging it with tge #rallyfornature tag was their contribution. Echos their efforts on Hen Harrier day….
I also noticed Andrew Gilruth of GWCT ‘not’ attacking the RSPB (they don’t do that apparently) and other conservation bodies on the Countryfile magazine website for wasting time and effort only silly new laws like vicarious liability, claiming all it does is it makes these charities make lots of money and cost taxpayer money.
Neil
I feel the need to correct you again as I did on Twitter. This is the Twitter exchange you are referring to:
GWCT: Want to save Hen Harriers? Retweet to ask @DefraGovUK to publish Hen Harrier Joint Recovery Plan #RallyforNature
Neil: What a surprise @Gameandwildlife use #rallyfornature to try divert people to THEIR petition, rather than ask the government to save nature
GWCT: @UK_Wildlife wrong – nothing to do with petition. How is ‘ask @DefraGovUK to publish HH plan’ not asking government to save nature?
To which I replied (and you for some reason seem to have left off) “@Gameandwildlife its asking government to give land owners what they want: control of hen harrier nos….”
Why you are here perhaps you can explain why GWCT were not present at the rally? And why are the GWCT so against vicarious liability when its been deemed fit for Scottish law and supported by many of those in conservation? Perhaps it relates to the fact many trustees of the GWCT are in fact landowners and would be liable to face prosecution if anything illegal were to happen on their land?
I was gutted I couldn’t make it to the rally but it’s great to see so many people did. I’m sure it has made politicians sit up and notice that there is a movement out there that is not going to stand by and watch our wildlife be ignored and suffer any more. A massive well done to all that made it and to all the NGo’s that are standing side by side in this fight. We must all keep the ball rolling and let our MP’s know that our natural world and the environment is an important factor as to where we will put our cross nest year.
We met our MP Heather Wheeler (South Derbyshire) and she listened to our concerns and nodded her head in all the right places but she failed to say anything which suggested that she would support these issues. Instead she promised to send me a link to a video giving an opposing view to the widely held belief that grouse moors are responsible for a decline in wildlife and instead showing that they are beneficial! She showed no enthusiasm for a Nature bill and appeared to have no knowledge whatsoever of the EU proposal to reform the birds/nature directives, although she did undertake to look further into this. Her departing comment however spoke volumes when she commented how her staff “look forward to receiving another email from Lorraine Miller”! Whether our meeting will affect the impact of these emails remain to be seen.
I was pleased to be able to personally deliver one of Findlay’s ( I wish I knew how to do a link here from his name) Hen Harrier Christmas cards. The rest of my pack of cards will be sent to various people/originisations whom can have a direct impact on saving Hen Harriers if they have a care.
Hi Lorraine. Did the promised video come through? Would be interesting if you could post a link to it on here. Who produced it?
I met my UKIP MP for Clacton, Douglas Carswell with another local friend. The points which we made were forcefully agreed with if he took them up. He promised that he would vigorously oppose any attempt by the EU to water down the habitats directive for example.
I did come away with the impression that he had sidestepped some of our concerns, by responding so swiftly and strongly that differences were hard for us to process. For example he thinks that all the ills we brought up are a result of EU with big business, whereas I think that at least some control has been put on multinationals by the EU.
So my colleague Chris and I are planning to invite him to Colne Point nature reserve which he expressed an interest in.
Here is the reply I got from my MP,
Thank you for contacting me about the Wildlife Trusts and RSPB campaign to introduce a Nature and Wellbeing Act.
I am delighted to say that the Conservative Party is committed to protecting our natural environment, keeping development sustainable and giving everyone the opportunity to access and enjoy the great British outdoors.
I am proud that this Government published the first Natural Environment White Paper for 20 years and established a proper strategy, Biodiversity 2020. I understand that £7.5 million has been provided to establish 12 Nature Improvement Areas, providing space for wildlife to thrive; 148,000 acres of priority habitats and 20,000 acres of woodland are also being created, plus another million trees planted in towns and cities. England’s woodland cover is expanding at a rate not seen since the fourteenth century.
Being outside in nature benefits people physically and mentally, so it is important too to protect access to the countryside. Our network of public rights of way plays an important role, so the Government is simplifying the process of recording them to ensure no historic rights of way are lost. Work is also ongoing with Natural England to establish the England Coast Path.
The Government’s vision for sustainable development, launched in February 2011, made clear that it must be ‘central to the way we make policy, run our buildings and purchase goods and services’. For the first time, all departmental business plans include actions that contribute to sustainable development, and tools and capabilities in this area are being embedded right across the Government.
My Party’s manifesto will be published during the General Election campaign, but I believe the progress the Government has made shows our commitment to protecting and promoting our natural environment for the present and for the future.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
Yours sincerely,
The Rt. Hon. Sir James Paice MP
Member of Parliament for South East Cambridgeshire
He didn’t answer the extra questions that I came up with. Here is what I asked,
Please can you tell me if you are aware of the petition by Dr Mark Avery to ban driven grouse shooting? Please can you share your views on banning driven grouse shooting? Do you recognise that our country has a problem with wildlife crime particularly with the persecution of raptors? Do you believe the current punishment given to convicted wildlife criminals, particularly those found guilty of raptor persecution namely gamekeepers, is strong enough? Should the employers of those convicted also be held responsible for the illegal actions that took place?
I have asked him again if he will answer these questions. I will keep you posted!!
An excellent blog Mark and all-in-all Tuesday was a great day. It was my first experience, in 76 years, inside Westminster and it was illuminating! Apart from the long wait in a keen wind to get through security it was quite fascinating.
We hadn’t managed an appointment with our MP in the afternoon but a fellow constituent (see Alan’s comments above) saw him in the morning session. I had arranged to meet John Howell’s (Con. Henley) research assistant and phoned her from the queue to say we were running a bit late. We gave our names at the desk and waited to see if we could hear our names called above the cacophony in the Lobby. It was all rather Dickensian. A cry went up from the officials which sounded like ‘wig coming through, stand aside’ and we all quietened and parted like the Red Sea. A man in a wig and gaiters strode through the lobby carrying a few papers wrapped in a ribbon (perhaps a draft copy of a Health and Wellbeing Act?) and we all flowed back only to go through it again as he returned empty handed.
Waiting to be called we were suddenly greeted by our first names by Olivia, Dr Howell’s assistant, who had found us in the melee. Like you , Mark, we then wound our way through the labyrinthine corridors to Portcullis House where Olivia listened intently to our comments and made notes and occasionally said ‘goodness’ and ‘I didn’t know that’, so I think the messages were getting through. I was blessed to be accompanied by three very erudite and well-informed ladies of the constituency who put all points very succinctly. Lyn is writing up a more formal resume which she will circulate to interested parties.
A great experience which seemed to by an amalgam of G&S’s Iolanthe and the shopping mall at Milton Keynes!
Whilst I’m sure NIAs are very worthwhile, the fact that putting £7.5 million into them appears as a headline achievement in every Coalition statement on their ‘achievements’ for nature sadly just emphasises how disastrous the past 4 1/2 years have been for nature.
Roderick – I couldn’t agree more!
Works out at about a little over £600k each I think, hardly big money…but if you say it fast enough often enough…
The NIA in this area has had three Project Managers in as many years and beyond giving more welfare payments to agri-industrialists so they can claim unproductive corners as wildlife corridors I’ve yet to see much tangible conservation benefit that will be sustained.
I can think of groups who’d consider £600k a quite substantive sum but as you suggest, n’owt in the garnd scheme of things, perhaps simply gagging money to keep dissenters quiet?
Roderick, I am also sure that NIAs are worthwhile. The one in my area is farmer led (which is good) but I can’t help wondering whether we are double funding for work that would also be done under HLS /ELS subsidy.
‘I can’t help wondering whether we are double funding for work that would also be done under HLS /ELS subsidy’
It’s a fair question to ask Bob, but I think it unlikely. There are quite strict rules in place to prevent double-funding of agri-environment scheme options, and rightly so. I know that the Meres and Mosses NIA team have worked hard to ensure that NIA grants and advice has dovetailed with existing advice programmes (Catchment Sensitive Farming etc) to avoid duplication and as a matter of course ensure that they consult Natural England before offering any grant aid to farms in HLS agreements. In the Meres and Mosses NIA most of the grant funding has been for small but innovative capital projects that fall outside of the more rigid Environmental Stewardship Scheme, feasibility studies and advice. It’s worked very well so far.
Ps – I do apologise for accidentally ‘disliking’ your comment!
Hi Ross Mason: well, well!
I received an IDENTICALLY worded reply from Tory Transport Minister, Patrick McLoughlin (MP for Derbyshire Dales)…..also ignoring the questions and points I had added on at the end of my email.
Nick
Hi Nick,
That just shows how little us and our concerns mean to them. Not suprised at all really.
Hi Mark, it was good to meet you at last. I have had nothing from my MP (Chris Heaton Harris – Daventry – Con) yet. And nothing when I was in the Lobby. If I ever do I’ll let you know…. I suspect the reply will be identical to the two Tories mentioned above? Simon
Good work, wish I could have attended. No reply at all to my email from Anas Sarwar, MP for Glasgow Central, perhaps he is too busy as interim leader of the Scottish Labour Party or maybe he’s lying down in a darkened room considering the drubbing forecast for Labour in Scotland following their referendum performance.
I felt gutted not to be able to attend, Mark. As you know, I support your campaign to protect Hen Harriers 100%, made the journey from Hay to Derbyshire without question and would go again in an instance. I am passionate about nature protection, particularly valuing it for its own sake. But I do not support the monetisation of nature in our pro-growth economy and cannot back the Nature and Wellbeing Act as it stands. I’m glad you enjoyed your day, however, and look forward to your response.
Ginny.
‘a means of mitigating climate change and reducing water bills’
You forgot to claim that the banning of grouse shooting was certain to guarantee world peace and give everyone free chocolate for life.
Monro – thank you for pointing that out. One of your more sensible comments.
I think one of the most important achievements of the day was in bringing the different organisations together (well done everyone concerned). Agenda, politics and approaches may vary but all of our end goals are so similar as to make no difference.
If I may be forgiven for making an avian analogy, I think our humble starling is a great example. Everybody sees them hanging around their gardens or on roof tops and wires but most people barely notice them. Until on a winters evening they assemble in their thousands and put on a show. People with hardly an interest in nature stop and look up in amazement. And when the wowing and whooping dies down they all start asking the birders what it’s all about. “What are they doing?” and “why are they doing it?” and why don’t they crash into each other?” etc. Suddenly people with little or no interest in nature are intrigued by starlings.
My point behind these ramblings is that if we all leave our various foraging grounds from time to time and flock together in our masses, murmurating our backsides off for wildlife, more people will notice, more people will take an interest and if some of those people end up caring then we’re winning.
United we stand and all that.
Paul – very nicely put. I wish I’d thought of that. Thank you.
I received exactly the same response from my MP, Bernard Jenkin, as Ross & Nick. Must be the standard Tory “go away and stop bothering me” reply. Frankly I expected nothing more from my pro-hunting, pro-badger culling, tow the party line representative. Well done to all those who made the effort, lets hope it pricked the consciences of some MPs at least.