CAMPAIGNERS have called on an MP to champion the environment after her name was drawn in the Private Members’ Bill ballot.

South Cotswolds MP Roz Savage came third in the lottery on Thursday, September 5, which determines which backbenchers will have the chance to introduce new laws.

The ballot decides which 20 MPs will get priority time for their Private Members’ Bill and thus have the greatest chance of achieving their law-changes.

Local residents gathered in Cirencester on Thursday, September 12, asking Roz to champion the Climate and Nature Bill.

According to Zero Hour, the campaign for the CAN Bill, the bill, if made law, would require the government to deliver a joined-up strategy to tackle the climate and ecological emergency.

This means integrating existing climate and biodiversity plans, as well as aligning the government’s targets with the UK’s international commitments to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and halt and reverse nature loss by 2030.

Roz announced her support for the CAN Bill during the 2024 general election campaign.

One campaigner in Cirencester, Gilly Riddington from Ashton Keynes, said in a video message to the MP: “I absolutely think [the bill] should be your Private Members’ Bill, because surely this is the most important thing under which everything else sits.”

Private Members’ Bills are public bills introduced by MPs who aren’t government ministers.

The MPs drawn highest in the Private Members’ Bill ballot have the best chance of making progress with their bill.

Those picked in the ballot will introduce their chosen bills to the House of Commons on Wednesday, October 16.

Youth campaigners from UK Youth 4 Nature have also sent a video message to Roz asking her to back the CAN Bill in Parliament.

In the video, posted on social media and addressed directly to Roz, the young campaigners celebrate the MP’s commitment to fighting climate change for future generations and ask her to support them by championing the bill.

Roisin Taylor, co-director of Youth 4 Nature UK, said: “Our generation is struggling with eco anxiety as we face an uncertain future that fills us with dread.

“By backing the CAN Bill, Roz could give young people across the UK the hope we are desperately crying out for.”

Commenting on the requests for her to champion the CAN Bill, Roz said: “I am currently taking my time to consider options, as they are all important issues, but I have to pick just one.

“I take this opportunity very seriously and will take time to deeply consider which issue to focus on.”