Press release
Reaction to UK Government's Autumn Budget
28 October 2026
In response to the announcement in the Autumn Budget that the Government will bring forward legislation at the earliest opportunity to “reduce the risk that legal challenges leave essential projects in limbo."
ClientEarth's Head of UK, Kyle Lischak, said:
"The right to challenge unlawful decisions is one of the few ways people can hold those in power to account. The Government presents the Fingleton reforms as a way to remove barriers to growth but that is a false choice. Legal challenges are often the only way communities can contest decisions that affect them, their area, and the nature within it.
"As the Government races ahead on rolling out AI infrastructure, more communities will be asked to host large-scale developments. That makes strong public scrutiny and democratic accountability more important, not less. People need a real way to challenge decisions that pose a threat to their health and local environment.”
ENDS
About ClientEarth
ClientEarth works in over 60 countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe. We shape, implement and enforce the law, to build a future for our planet in which people and nature can thrive.
We are tackling climate change, protecting nature and stopping pollution, with partners and citizens around the globe. We hold industry and governments to account and defend everyone’s right to a healthy world.