Climate change and protecting the environment is bigger than Brexit, MP for Taunton Deane Rebecca Pow told an Environment Surgery at Wellington Community Centre.

The event, hosted with Somerset Wildlife Trust, was a lively affair attended by people of all ages from across Taunton Deane.

Ms Pow, who has a background in farming and gardening, highlighted the Government’s record on the environment – cutting emissions by more than a third since 1990, decarbonising at a faster rate than any other country in the G20, phasing out unabated coal power by 2025 and supporting the renewables industry, now employing 400,000 people.

She said: “Our record is good – but there is much more to do and clearly those attending our meeting were keen to progress and make a difference to the planet with speed.”

Ms Pow added that Government policies were important but so were people’s own actions. “We can also all make lifestyle changes from shopping for local products, buying in season, insulating our homes and reducing our reliance on cars,” she said.

“The benefits are that we support local producers, lower our heating bills and improve our health and well-being – small changes can have huge benefits.

“Here in Wellington we have the Blue Pantry and in Taunton Zero Waste Shopping – fine examples of local people embracing change.”

She added that many good ideas stemmed from the meeting including a suggestion for a traffic light labelling on clothes to show how sustainable they were, vertical growing of crops to save space and including nature as part of the education system.