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Council strips key commitments from proposal backing UK Nature’s Rights Bill, sparking cross-party backlash
Brighton & Hove City Council has gutted a motion that would have made it one of the first councils in the UK to formally back giving nature legal rights.
Green and Independent councillors brought the proposal to full council last week, calling for the city to endorse the UK Nature’s Rights Bill — landmark legislation that would allow rivers, coastlines and ecosystems to be defended in court like people or companies.
But Labour councillors stripped out the motion’s core commitments, removing pledges to formally endorse the bill and write to government urging it be tabled in Parliament.
However, a Labour amendment removed these commitments. The amended motion limits the council to merely “noting” the principles of the movement and the Nature’s Rights Bill, referencing existing government environmental policies and current council activity.
Labour’s amendment means the final motion contrasts with developments elsewhere in Sussex. Lewes District Council is working with local communities on a Charter of Rights for the River Ouse, exploring how legal recognition of the river’s fundamental rights can improve its protection within governance frameworks.
Green councillor Kerry Pickett, who proposed the motion, said the amendment fundamentally changed its purpose:
“This motion was about recognising that existing environmental law is failing and that we need a new legal framework that gives nature rights. Labour removed every concrete step that would have supported that shift.
“Lewes is already demonstrating how a rights-based approach can be explored locally and collaboratively. Brighton & Hove had the opportunity to do the same for our downland, green spaces and coastline and Labour chose not to.”
Independent councillor Mark Earthy who seconded the motion said:
“The Nature’s Right’s Bill is consistent with our city’s groundbreaking natural environment and sustainability strategy and can be seen as a logical extension of it. Endorsement by a city of our size would make people sit up and take notice.”
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