Act Now, Change Forever - we lobbied Vicky Foxcroft MP for climate and nature

Vicky Foxcroft refuses to sign the Rosebank Oil Field Opposition Pledge but supports community-led, self-build, sustainable housing initiatives.

Twelve of us attended from Lewisham North, with some representing international organisations such as Greenpeace and Water Aid alongside those representing local environmental groups and charities.

Our MP Vicky Foxcroft was kind enough to give up her time to meet us. Given the wide range of issues covered under ‘Climate and Environment’, it was a packed agenda and over the 45 minutes allocated, there was little time for in depth discussion. 

The Rosebank pledge was the first item on the agenda and provided a clue to Vicky's environmental stance.

The courts have ruled against Rosebank on the basis that its emissions would exceed the UK’s agreed carbon budget targets.  But the Government has responded by reviewing its policies, with the potential to get around the court’s ruling.

Vicky did not sign the pledge, and later told us she was "not supposed to be signing pledges".

Regarding the Greenpeace global plastics treaty, Vicky said she would check whether it was in line with government policy and come back to campaigners.

She did not commit to supporting the Climate and Nature Bill, which she seemed to think, as a private members bill, might not come back to parliament.

Concern was voiced that the new Planning and Infrastructure Bill would dilute building environmental regulations, allowing developers to ignore environmental and safety good practice. 

Vicky didn’t address this directly but pointed out the urgent need for more housing, saying her case load is dominated by housing needs “by a country mile”.  She then segued into council rents, pointing out that the income was not adequately covering the cost of dealing with damp and mould.

The government has changed the formula for social rents to allow providers to increase them by 1% above inflation every year for the next 10 years.

Concern was raised that a further £9.4 billion was allocated in the latest budget for Carbon Capture and £17 billion towards the development of nuclear power, but this was not addressed. The government had already pledged £22 bn over 25 years to support carbon capture and storage, a highly problematic technology which is promoted by the fossil fuel industry.

Vicky said she was passionate about access to clean water in developing countries and promised to talk to David Lammy about Water Aid and the development budget.

On the topic of Sustainable Streets, she said that the council was aware that the consultations had led to a lot of opposition in the community, and they would be looking into how these consultations could be improved. 

Gaza was discussed and Vicky spoke about the horrific situation and the government’s commitment for a peaceful settlement. She also brought up the plight of those in the West Bank and how their lives were blighted by constant harassment by settlers and the authorities.

Her final comments were in praise of the Rural Urban Synthesis Society (RUSS) self-build housing development at Church Grove in Ladywell.

She mentioned the high standard environmental and sustainability aspects as well as the positive community engagement, and how this provided a blueprint for future housing development.  

The mass lobby was organised by the Climate Coalition - thousands of constituents from across the UK met with their local MPs to pass on concerns about the climate and environment. 

David Holloway is a Lewisham climate campaigner who started Power in Our Hands, which works with SELCE to provide energy advice and raises awareness of climate change.

If you attended the lobby and would like to add to this report, please contact us.