I’ve reviewed the environmental content of the Greens, Labour, Conservatives and Lib Dems on this blog. The Conservative manifesto is easily, by far, the weakest on environmental issues despite the fact that President May called this election and the party has been in government for the past seven years. I gave the Greens, Labour and…
Category: THE POLITICS: Ministers, MPs, government policy
SNP still the tartan Tories?
The SNP is in government in Scotland and claims to be the real opposition to the Conservative Party in Westminster. Why has the SNP dragged its feet over addressing raptor persecution in Scotland and why did it not take a more useful part in the debate over driven grouse shooting down south? Only the SNP…
Election comment 4 – Fineshade wood
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Local politicians have generally been very supportive of the local and national opposition to the plans to wreck Fineshade Wood by building holiday chalets on this wildlife-rich site (for previous blogs see: Dear Mr Pursglove, 6 May 2016; Fineshade Wood should be an SSSI, 15 April 2016; Fineshade Wood should be an SSSI, 28 March…
Election comment 3 – compare and contrast
Here is an exam question for a politics course – and some notes to help you answer it. Q: compare and contrast the winter fuel payments to pensioners with CAP payments to farmers. Some notes to help your revision: similar annual sums of money are involved – around £2bn per annum all pensioners are eligible…
Liberal Democrat party manifesto
The Liberal Democrat Party manifesto has been consistently good on the environment for many years – how does this one shape up? Here are my thoughts on likes and gripes (restricted to the environmental issues): Good things: ‘when the terms of our future relationship with the EU have been negotiated (over the next two…
Conservative party manifesto
The 2010 Conservative Party manifesto was quite good on the environment but the 2015 version was pretty awful. How does this one shape up? Here are my thoughts on likes and gripes (restricted to the environmental issues): Good things: it’s a nice blue colour ‘The United Kingdom will lead the world in environmental protection. As…
Labour Party manifesto
Recent Labour Party manifestos have been disappointing on environmental issues. How does this one shape up? Here are my thoughts on likes and gripes (restricted to the environmental issues): Good things: ‘We will defend and extend existing environmental protections.’ – will we see anything similar in the Tory manifesto? I doubt it’. But The Greens…
Election comment 2 – the Corby constituency
I live in the Corby constituency – a marginal constituency which tends to change party when the government does. People who live in the top photo vote Labour (or UKIP). People who live in the bottom photo vote Tory (or UKIP). People who live in the small towns, that’s me, vote Tory or Labour or…
Election comment 1
I wonder whether Emily Thornberry and Barry Gardiner have been on a media training course – if so, it’s certainly working. Back on 20 April Barry gave Adam Bolton a trouncing on SKY news and he had a really good go at Nick Robinson on the Today programme last week. And then Emily Thornberry puts…
Manifesto week
By the end of this week it will be manifest how poor is the grasp of environmental issues by our leading political parties. I am not expecting that any of them will reach the standards of the Green Party’s environmental manifesto. The Liberal Democrats: usually have some good things on the environment in their manifesto…