Six tests for leadership: will the new government deliver for climate and nature? 

The King of the North finally has the keys to No 10, after months of manoeuvring and one thwarted by-election later, the new government has been unveiled.

As with any new administration, there is a sense of possibility lurking in Westminster. But this transition comes at a particularly precarious moment. Public trust in politics is low or non-existent and household finances are tight. From defence spending to rising bills, his government inherits a formidable in-tray. Amidst all this, climate change and nature loss are increasingly threatening the UK’s security and public health, as this summer’s repeated heatwaves have demonstrated all too well.

The politics behind the appointments
The new cabinet offers some clues as to how the prime minister intends to tackle these challenges. Burnham’s reshuffle signals both continuity and change, with a distinctly northern flavour.

The biggest surprise was the appointment of John Healey as chancellor. Having resigned over Keir Starmer’s unwillingness to fully fund his defence plans, Healey arrives at the Treasury with a clear focus on security and reindustrialisation. To date, environmental policy has not been central to Treasury priorities, but that may soon change. Over the past few months, the government’s national security assessment has identified environmental degradation as a growing threat to our economy, and a landmark report showed that the UK is built for a climate that no longer exists. The question now is whether ministers will start to treat climate and nature as central to economic resilience and a source of growth, rather than as siloed issues for a handful of departments. 

Equally significant is Ed Miliband’s move to the Foreign Office. He has been, by far, the most effective minister in Starmer’s government, hitting the ground running and delivering major progress towards clean power. His legacy is a reminder that pace matters, especially when Andy Burnham only has a couple of years before facing voters again and, as we saw with Keir Starmer, the first few months are make or break.

But the most consequential appointments for the green agenda are Miatta Fahnbulleh at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and Angela Eagle at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). 

The clean power mission evolves
Fahnbulleh was widely expected to take over at DESNZ, having served as minister for consumers under Ed Miliband and played a leading role in the development of the Warm Homes Plan. Throughout her career, she has championed devolution, public ownership and place-based policy making, making her a natural fit for this role. 

Her appointment suggests continuity on clean power and home decarbonisation, albeit with a shift in emphasis. Having built her political career around energy affordability and social justice, she is likely to frame the transition not simply as a climate one but as an opportunity to lower bills, improve living standards and strengthen communities. The challenge will be turning those ambitions into delivery at the scale and pace needed to make a difference to people’s lives. 

Defra’s brief is in the spotlight
At Defra, Angela Eagle takes on one of the most politically fraught briefs in government. Only weeks after leaving her post as farming minister, she now inherits responsibility not only for agriculture – an increasingly hot button issue – but for restoring nature, cleaning up rivers and navigating planning tensions. 

Eagle is well placed to carry forward the recently published Land Use Framework and the next phase of the Environmental Improvement Plan. But she will also face mounting pressure on issues that extend far beyond farming. Andy Burnham’s commitment to bring water back under public control, combined with public anger over sewage, means environmental policy must sit closer to the centre of government than ever before. 

Prosperity depends on climate and nature
Beyond cabinet appointments, it’s hard to overstate the importance of Andy Burnham himself for the climate and nature debate. With pressure growing on key commitments like North Sea licensing and the zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, he must demonstrate that Ed Miliband’s move doesn’t mean that the clean power mission was a personality driven project rather than a genuine cross‑government priority. And, while no one yet knows how much meaningful devolution he can deliver in the short time he has, the fact that he’s packed his cabinet with northern MPs shows a clear direction of travel, one that suggests regional empowerment is intended to be more than rhetoric. 

Labour has now promised to raise living standards and spread opportunity to every part of the country. Achieving that will require a new economic settlement: one that recognises that climate and nature are not growth constraints, but right at the foundation of long term prosperity. That is why Green Alliance has joined with other leading environmental advocates to set out our six tests for leadership: 

1. Bring down bills for good. This one is simple, the UK is producing more cheap renewable electricity than ever, but households are not yet feeling it. The government’s decision to cut VAT is a welcome start. It fits with Burnham’s pledge to make this a cost of living focused government, but deeper structural reform to pass on all the benefits to people is needed. 

2. The transition must be fair. Policies that lower bills, offer warm homes and create high quality jobs must be championed, learning from past transitions that better support workers and industries impacted by change. 

3. Restore the natural environment. Thriving ecosystems are essential for a resilient economy and remain our strongest defence against threats like food insecurity, flooding and extreme heat. 

4. Polluters must play their part. The transition to a more resilient, secure environment cannot be financed by households alone. The government must be willing to hold major polluters to account through stronger regulation, fines and taxation. 

5. Democratic participation matters. Protest, campaigning and community action are vital to healthy democracy, yet successive governments have made it harder for people to engage in peaceful protest without sanction. Change will only succeed if the public believe they have a meaningful stake in shaping the country’s future. 

6. Champion international leadership. The UK must drive forward international action on climate and nature, opposing violations of international law that so often cause – and are caused by – environmental neglect and unsustainable energy policies. 

After years of drift, denial and delay on climate and nature, the country is desperate for a government that just gets on with it. For this government, the challenge is immediate. It will be judged on whether it can show that successful action on this agenda genuinely improves people’s lives.