Nature should be where politicians bring the country together, not race to the bottom. The public is ready for more. Westminster needs to catch up.

The public doesn’t buy the idea that protecting nature comes at the expense of the things we need. Only 8% believe environmental protections are a barrier to building homes. We can have new homes, a thriving economy and nature recovery.

We’ve also heard calls to leave the Aarhus Convention, which gives people a say in environmental decisions and the right to challenge them. Taking those rights away would silence communities at a time they need a voice.

That includes proposals to abolish essential environmental regulators. Weakening the institutions that safeguard wildlife would take us backwards. Environmental protections aren’t a barrier, they help underpin the natural world our economy depends on.

Are leaders serious about nature recovery? Based on this party conference season, the answer looks like no. We’ve seen too little ambition, alongside proposals that would weaken the protections and institutions nature depends on.

Our birds of prey are still paying the price for wildlife crime. With over half of confirmed persecution incidents linked to land managed for gamebird shooting, stronger safeguards are way overdue.

It was great to hear the Secretary of State at Groundswell talking about how nature and profitability in farming go hand in hand - we couldn’t agree more!