If you are an outdoors enthusiast, will the election of Labour to UK government make any difference to how you enjoy your favourite activities? We have been considering issues such as access rights for hikers and campers, as well as any impacts – positive or negative – of Labour policies on nature and the environment. At the earlier this month, the Labour Party won 411 seats giving prime minister Keir Starmer’s new government a majority of 172 seats. Time will tell as to what issues Labour will focus on first – and in the future – and what areas of the party’s manifesto the government will remain true to.
Since winning the election, the new Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Reed, and the new Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband, have also been unveiling some of Labour's core priorities. It’s worth noting that in Scotland the Land Reform Act (2003) established statutory public rights of access to land for recreational and other purposes. Guidelines of responsible behaviour are outlined in the .
However, the same does not apply to the rest of the UK and many people, groups and organisations have long been . Indeed, data compiled by nature activist Guy Shrubsole and the concluded that 92 constituencies in England allow no freedom to roam. The good news is that Labour has historically had a strong record of improving the public’s access to nature.
For example, the party was instrumental in creating th.