Brexit has dominated the first stage of this general election campaign, with this week’s exchange of irritated leaks, briefings, and statements between London and Brussels. This focus was to a large extent inevitable: the prime minister triggered the poll to strengthen her hand in the Brexit talks.

But it’s vital, both for good policymaking and for good politics, that Theresa May’s pitch to voters is about more than Brexit. Her forthcoming manifesto must speak to a wide range of issues about which voters care — and it should include the environment.

A suite of pressing environmental challenges require new, more ambitious government policies: exigent carbon emissions targets; illegal levels of air pollution; a sustained decline in wildlife; persistently low tree planting rates; and draughty, inefficient