In a move that highlights internal divisions within Reform UK, a council led by the party has endorsed the release of wild beavers in Leicestershire to combat flooding. The decision comes despite the party's broader opposition to rewilding initiatives.
Beavers as Natural Flood Defenders
The Labour government announced last year a legal change allowing licensed releases of beavers into the wild in England, roughly 400 years after they were hunted to extinction for their fur and oil. Environmental campaigners praise beavers for creating habitats through dam-building, which can reduce flooding during heavy rains and store water in drier months. They also improve water quality and boost populations of bats, fish, birds, amphibians, and invertebrates.
Reform councillor Adam Tilbury, the cabinet member for environment and flooding, told the BBC: “We all know Leicestershire is very badly affected by flooding, and beavers are great natural engineers who could be one part of the solution.” He noted that two potential release sites had been identified and suggested the rodents could also boost tourism.
Another Reform councillor, Joseph Boam, celebrated the news on X: “Reform UK-led Leicestershire is bringing BEAVERS BACK. Making Britain great again, one beaver at a time. Natural flood defence. Restored habitats. Real solutions.”
Party Row Over Rewilding
The move has stirred controversy within Reform UK, which has been divided over rewilding and reintroducing locally extinct species like beavers. Nature campaigner Ben Goldsmith, co-founder of the Conservative Environment Network, was approached by Reform leader Nigel Farage to help draft the party’s nature policy. However, Reform’s business spokesperson, Richard Tice, rejected working with Goldsmith, whose ideas about releasing wild animals and returning farmland to nature have angered farmers.
Farage said he was talking to Goldsmith and “interested in his ideas,” but the party has rejected large-scale rewilding, stating such policies “are not aligned with its principles or objectives.” Goldsmith, who has released beavers on his Somerset estate and is a vocal advocate for their reintroduction, commented: “Nature is at the root of everything. Protecting it must be a non-partisan goal, even if there may be debates on how to deliver nature recovery. If Reform going pro-beaver is an indication that the party will be bringing out an ambitious set of nature restoration policies, that will be tremendous news – not least because it raises the bar for the other parties as well.”
Farage's Recent Criticism
Farage recently criticised plans to replace figures on British banknotes like Winston Churchill with wildlife, claiming the Bank of England intended to “replace people like him with a picture of a beaver” and calling the move “absolutely crackers.”
Polling indicates that centre-right voters considering Reform are deterred by the party’s antipathy towards environmental policies. Reform’s policy chief, James Orr, has shown polling to top figures on the right that more than 80% of Reform voters care deeply about nature, and that Tories reluctant to vote for Farage’s party care the most about the issue.
Reform has been contacted for comment.
