RIGHT TO ROAM — AND ABOUT TIME WE DID —FROM PROTECT THE WILD

Can't see this message? View in a browser   The antidote to political despair is… Dear Roamers, Politics is pretty depressing right now. As a campaigner, I’m often asked, ‘what gives you hope?’. And the answer isn’t to ignore the bad stuff going on, or wish naively that things weren’t this way. The antidote to political despair is to take action. A veteran political organiser recently told me that if 100 MPs each received 10 letters from their constituents on the same issue, that issue would rocket to the top of the political agenda. There are now nearly 40,000 of you on our mailing list, so… that’s some political clout right there. Many of you have already written to your MP and shared their responses, giving us valuable insights on opinion inside Westminster. So if you haven’t yet written to your MP, this email is to encourage you. Please keep writing to your MPs about Right to Roam – because it works! You can find our template email, with links to your constituency access data, here. In our supporter survey last week (which you can still complete here), some of you mentioned you were unsure about the state of play with access reform, or said that you’d like to hear more about our behind-the-scenes parliamentary work. So without further ado: today’s newsletter is a political digest of everything that has been happening with the politics of access. What the parties pledged at the last election Spool back to last summer’s General Election campaign. We analysed the manifestos and policy documents of all the main parties running in England, and produced this assessment of their pledges on access to nature. Whilst the Tories unsurprisingly ruled out introducing a “universal right to roam”, the Green Party promised a “new English Right to Roam Act” modelled on Scotland’s laws, and the Lib Dems pledged they’d be “exploring a right to roam for waterways”. Labour’s manifesto promises on access were disappointingly unambitious – with the only concrete pledges being to create three new national forests and nine river walks. However, the party also promised to “improve responsible access to nature”, hinting at broader plans. The party had previously committed to introducing a comprehensive right to roam but backed down following aggressive lobbying from the National Farmers’ Union and the Country Land and Business Association. The politics of access since the election Since Labour won the election and formed a government, access reform has clearly not been at the top of their agenda – although we’ve got plans to change that this year. But we’ve been encouraged to see the Government announce two new policies recently. Firstly, that they will repeal the ridiculous 2031 deadline to register all historic rights of way. And secondly, that they’ll be reforming the duties of National Parks to include nature recovery. Both of these changes require ministers to pass primary legislation – a Bill of some kind. So when Labour introduces such a Bill, why not use it to make broader changes too – such as giving the public a right of responsible access to the countryside? We don’t want to give anyone false hope – but that seems to us like a good opportunity to work towards. Our parliamentary work since the election Since the election, we’ve continued to speak to ministers and their advisers, but we’ve also been working with supportive MPs. At the rally we held in Westminster during the Supreme Court case about wild camping rights on Dartmoor, we were pleased that several Labour and Lib Dem MPs came to speak, along with former Green MP Caroline Lucas. You can read some of what Phil Brickell, Labour MP for Bolton West and a champion of access rights, had to say here. We then worked with Phil and other Labour backbenchers who were keen to write to the Environment Secretary, Steve Reed. 30 Labour MPs and Peers signed a letter to the Secretary of State, expressing their support for a Scottish-style right of responsible access, and urging the government to publish an Access White Paper – essentially a public consultation on access reform. Earlier this month, we met with some of these MPs for a ‘Right to Roam roundtable’ in Westminster, along with representatives of other access groups. We’re encouraged about the level of support and it feels like momentum is gathering. So what’s next? We now need: MPs to ask questions in Parliament – what are the government’s plans to improve responsible access to nature, and will they champion a greater right to roam? MPs to hold a Westminster Hall debate on access reform. We need more MPs to help request that this debate be held. The Government to publish a consultation on access reform. It’s crucial that they hear calls for this from lots of MPs. How you can help: Please write to your MP with these three asks. You can simply copy and paste the three points above into an email to your MP – or better still, write your own email. Find your MP and their email address here. When you write to them, remember to include your address or postcode so they know you’re a constituent. And remember: the best antidote to political despair is action. FOR THE READING LIST… Right to Roam vs. Darwall: Last year, Country Life published an apologia by England's most notorious landowner, Alexander Darwall, explaining why he felt his legal attempts to revoke the right to wild camp on Dartmoor were justified. We thought it was pretty bogus. We asked for a right of reply – and, with the Supreme Court case underway, Country Life agreed. Right to Roam's Lewis Winks penned our response, which you can read here. See what you think but... we think it's decisive. Damien Gabet trespasses the length of England (!): In an extraordinary summer feat, travel writer Damien Gabet set out to hike the length of England, trespassing as he went. He interviewed advocates for the right to roam along the way and raised a chunk of change for the campaign. Many of you followed his journey on Instagram. Now he has penned this hilarious piece for Adventure.com about the journey. Check it out! LOCAL GROUPS RTR West Yorkshire are meeting next weekend on the 1st March for a positive trace litter pick and mini trespass. Meet up is just west of The New Inn off Carr Road (LS28 5RP; what3words: deeper.added.bats) and promises to conclude with a pint in the pub. Street parking is only around and about, so plan ahead. For more details get in touch at: righttoroamwestyorkshire@gmail.com. RTR Bristol are headed to an ancient woodland the following day, on Sunday 2nd March, where they'll be learning their mosses, lichens and fungi. Meet up is either Bristol Bus and Coach Station at 10.20am (to get the X7 at 10.30) or Warren Lane bus stop at 10.45am. Mostly flat, no barbed wire, estimated walk time around 3-4 hours. Onwards! Best wishes, Guy and the Right to Roam team ---------- For the latest campaign updates, follow us on Instagram & Bluesky To get involved, check out our website here. Can you help keep us roaming? Head to ‘Donate’ here. MPs and access campaigners at our recent Right to Roam roundtable in Westminster. Take Action Visit our social accounts Check out our site   This email was sent from this site. If you no longer wish to receive this email, change your email preferences here.