When I was lucky enough to be drawn third in the Private Members’ Bill ballot last September, I didn’t hesitate. For me, there was only one choice. Tackling the twin crises of Climate and Nature is why I came into Parliament - and why I spent seven years rowing solo across the world’s “Big Three” oceans.
I’m proud to have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Zero Hour and the campaigners behind the Climate and Nature Bill. Together, we pushed the government into producing its first annual Climate and Nature Statement - a small step in the right direction.
But promises without power are just paper. And frankly, trust is running out. Since January, this government has been rowing hard in the wrong direction - slashing the nature-friendly farming budget, watering down environmental protections in planning, and waving through new airport expansions.
Britain is already one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth. Half our biodiversity gone. Hedgehogs vanishing. The cooing of turtle doves falling silent. The wild heart of our country is breaking.
And yet nature is what we are. It is health, happiness, heritage. We are a nation of gardeners, hillwalkers, birdwatchers. We love our green and pleasant land - but too often this government treats it as just another barrier to bulldoze.
The truth is, people care. Eight million of us are members of the Wildlife Trusts, the RSPB, the National Trust. That’s more than all the political parties put together. The people of Britain are already a Party for Nature. It’s time our politicians caught up.
With the Conservatives overseeing historic declines in wildlife - and Labour now pressing the accelerator - it falls to the Liberal Democrats to stand up for the species, spaces, and landscapes that make Britain, Britain.
We must be bold. Fund farmers to restore the land. Reject the false choice between growth and green. Make sure water companies never profit from pollution.
This is our moment. We can be the generation that saved nature. Or the one that stood by while it died. The choice is ours.