26 Oct 2026
Campaigners from St Albans and Harpenden have won the support of local MPs Daisy Cooper and Victoria Collins in their campaign for a new law to protect people and the planet from corporate harm.
Members of St Albans District Friends of the Earth who live in St Albans met with Daisy Cooper MP and those from Harpenden met with Victoria Collins MP as part of the Good Business Matters mass lobby.
Following on from already making a pledge for the campaign, Daisy Cooper MP agreed to learn more about the proposed legislation and take action as appropriate.
Victoria Collins MP had not previously pledged support for a new Business, Human Rights and Environment Act but did so after speaking to the St Albans District Friends of the Earth campaigners.
Coordinated by the Corporate Justice Coalition – an alliance of 70 partner organisations including the likes of Friends of the Earth, ActionAid and the TUC – the day of action saw grassroots groups, national organisations and concerned members of the public joined from across the country to lobby MPs and ramp up pressure in the campaign for the new law.
Currently, there is no robust legislation that ensures companies are held to account when they perpetuate harm in their supply chains. Corporate abuses can harm both the environment and people, whether it’s by olluting the environment, fuelling deforestation, subjecting workers to exploitative labour practices or driving communities from their land.
So far, more than 90 MPs and Peers have signed the Good Business Matters pledge and 50 leading businesses – including Sainsbury’s, Primark and ASOS – support new legislation to level the playing field. This is bolstered by the more than 80 per cent of people who say they would support such a law.
The UK is increasingly at risk of lagging behind as other European countries make significant strides in introducing corporate due diligence legislation, but St Albans District Friends of the Earth hopes the Government will soon be compelled to act.
St Albans coordinator Amanda Yorwerth said: “We’re thrilled that Daisy Cooper MP and Victoria Collins MP turned out to throw their weight behind this vital campaign – one that seeks to rebalance the scales so that corporate interests aren’t treated as more important than people’s lives or our precious environment
“For too long, companies have got away with polluting and trashing the environment, or sidelining communities – often the two go hand-in-hand.
“With even more Parliamentarians now on board, and with the backing of big business and the public, it’s hard to see how the Government can go on ignoring how desperately we need a new Business, Human Rights and Environment Act.”
