Labour inherits a host of environmental issues that will need to be dealt with by a department which is unprotected and could face a further financial squeeze.

The new Government is already being urged to “hit the ground running” and “crack on” with nature recovery and investment to support the countryside, where it has won many rural seats as the old “Tory Shire” stereotype fades away.

High on the agenda for new Environment Secretary Steve Reed will be the polluted and degraded state of rivers, lakes and coastal waters, which have prompted widespread criticism of government and water companies along with high leakage rates and shareholder pay-outs.