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…
Category: THE POLITICS: Ministers, MPs, government policy
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…
Green Party environment manifesto published
The first words on the environment have been uttered by the political parties – the Green Party of England and Wales has produced its environmental manifesto. Well done to the Greens for having the first word – is this the last word on the environment? It’s a mere 10 pages with half of them being…
Food prices may be lower after Brexit
This is an interesting article by Warwick Lightfoot, Director of Research and Head of Economics and Social Policy at Policy Exchange. Unsurprisingly, from the Policy Exchange, it is strong on the view that leaving the EU will increase competition and therefore allow food prices to drop. This would be good news for consumers – that…
Live in Scotland? Then put pressure on the SNP.
The recent debacle in the Scottish legal and conservation system over the four-year delay in doing nothing (!) over the illegal alleged killing of a Hen Harrier is a matter for Scottish legal officers and Scottish nature conservationists to sort out with the help and support of Scottish politicians. The female Hen Harrier that…