Well, this will be interesting – Ben Goldsmith will be advising Reform on its nature policies according to the Guardian – click here.
Ben is a true, but quirky, friend of nature and Reform’s environmental policies were laughable at the last general election – click here.
Clearly, if Reform were to challenge for power at the next general election then it would need some policies in neglected areas such as nature and I’d rather those policies came from Ben than one of Nigel Farage’s grouse moor owners.
This is one to watch with interest. If reform gain any sort of power in future then it is better that they have good nature policies than that they don’t. It would be good if Labour had some too.
[registration_form]
Hello Mark.
Your blog has been on my reading-list for several years now. I’m not quite sure how it got there – maybe when I was looking up stuff about grasslands (connected distantly with my job at the time).
I wanted to say that although I disagree with you quite a lot about certain things, you are completely redeemed in my eyes because you display one very old-fashioned virtue. That is, you are prepared to like on a personal level, or speak well of people with whom you disagree (Patrick Galbraith for example).
I’m pleased about the news that R****m (can’t bear to type their name) have hired Ben Goldsmith. This is because I think it is very important that nature and environment issues do not become owned by the ‘left’. The Green Party (pause to spit), who ought to be my natural political home, have become part of the problem because they now see the environment as just one more good cause along with all the others.
Ben Goldsmith once appeared on ‘any questions’ with the then Green Party leader, Carla Denyer. Instead of being a competent politican and treating him as the potential ally (on some things) that he is, you could almost see her wrinkling her nose with distaste at him.
This might be the only comment I’ll ever make on your blog! But it seems wrong to read something for years and not say at least something. Best wishes.
Martin – many thanks for that.