Defra minister Jo Churchill has today (6 July) resigned her post in protest against the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.
Ms Churchill held the post of parliamentary under-secretary in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) after being appointed in September 2021.
Her resignation is one among a number of ministers leaving their roles in protest over Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s handling of a series of incidents – including “partygate” and the alleged misconduct of Conservative MP Chris Pincher.
“Recent events have shown integrity, competence, and judgment are all essential to the role of Prime Minister, while a jocular self-serving approach is bound to have its limitations,” Churchill said on Twitter.
Many across the recycling and waste management industry, like the ESA, will of course now be highly concerned about what implications this will have for the Resources and Waste Strategy
The Environmental Services Association (ESA) said it was “disappointed” by the news.
Executive Director of the ESA, Jacob Hayler, said: “The minister has been very visible and engaged with our sector during her tenure and many across the recycling and waste management industry, like the ESA, will of course now be highly concerned about what implications this will have for the Resources and Waste Strategy.
“Alongside our public sector colleagues, we wrote to the minister last week calling for urgent clarity on the reforms if we are to stand a chance of implementing them in line with the Government’s desired timescales. All we can hope is that whoever takes Jo Churchill’s place is ready to hit the ground running.”
[UPDATE 7 July] “Critical time”
Commenting on the departure of the Resources and Waste Minister, Jo Churchill, CIWM’s CEO, Sarah Poulter, said: “This is a critical time for the UK in its ambition to successfully develop a more sustainable and circular economy. Further ministerial changes lead to instability and a lack of confidence, which will impact the investment and innovation. It also has the potential to delay the decisions that need to be taken to deliver the Government’s ambitious waste collection and packaging reforms agenda.
“We hope an appointment is made in a timely manner and that efforts are made to further strengthen governmental relationships with the resource management sector as we work to deliver a world beyond waste.”
It is with a heavy heart that I have this morning tendered my resignation to the Prime Minister. I will not be doing media interviews on this matter. pic.twitter.com/gjFCVCrXEy
— Jo Churchill MP (@Jochurchill_MP) July 6, 2022