Perhaps 18 months ago I almost succeeded in getting the Conservative administration at County Hall to ban the use of the dangerous pesticide neonicatinoids (Neonics) from use on land it owned…including the numerous farms. All the evidence is that this product is in large part, though not exclusively, responsible for the rapid decline in the bee population throughout the world. It is banned in various places, including Europe, but our Government has over ruled the EU directive and continues to allow its use in the UK.
Previously the Devon County administration was on the cusp of banning the product but when their friends in the NFU waded in and said they thought it was a jolly good idea to keep using it, then not wishing to offend their friends, the administration changed its mind.
Michael Gove has recently made statements critical of the product and its harmful impact on vital wildlife. This week Homebase, to their credit, have stopped selling the product in their retail outlets.
I have asked again if the Devon Conservatives will now change their minds and consider once again the overwhelming evidence that this product is fundamentally unsafe and a threat to the bio diversity of our county.