Have you noticed? There’s a general election coming? Have you noticed? I’ve added some general election pages to this website? Over the next month these pages will be populated with more and more comment and analysis on what the political parties say about wildlife, nature conservation etc If you have suggestions for reasons why we…
Category: THE POLITICS: Ministers, MPs, government policy
Minister misleads
I was talking to a former, very distinguished, colleague yesterday about the environmental question time event the week before last, and how Rupert (Lord) de Mauley was so slippery and smooth that nobody could get hold of him. He was like a Turkish wrestler covered in olive oil. But his statement, which I have now…
Read BBC Wildlife’s election special
If you are going to vote on 7 May – and I do hope you will – then your preparation should start by reading the April issue of BBC Wildlife magazine (giraffe on cover). The 6-page election special asks eight questions of the Conservatives, Greens, Labour, Lib Dems, Plaid, SNP and UKIP. The questions…
Cash for questions time
At yesterday evening’s Environmental Any Questions, UKIP was represented by journalist William Cash, son of Bill Cash, former Tory MP. This must have been a tough gig for William but he didn’t flinch from putting us all straight on a few things: ‘the UKIP position on the EU is pretty clear’ – that was quite…
Environmental question time
Yesterday evening I attended an environmental question time organised by the Sibthorp Trust, British Ecological Society and CIEEM, and chaired by Jonathan Dimbleby. The panellists were Natalie Bennett (Green Party), William Cash (UKIP), Barry Gardiner MP (Labour), Lord (Rupert) de Mauley (Conservative Defra minister), Baroness Kate Parminter (Liberal Democrats, Environment Spokesperson) and Dr Eilidh Whiteford…
Labour: protecting animals
The Labour Party has published a rather brief pamphlet on ‘Protecting animals‘ whose focus is very much animal welfare and not nature conservation. It sometimes seems as though Labour sees the environment as climate change, and animals as welfare – which may leave nature conservation falling through a rather big hole in the middle! I’m…
Defra – what are you for? 1
Defra – what are you for these days? You seem to lack energy (and direction and even any ideas). The performance of Defra has been woeful under the coalition government. Apart from the introduction of a small amount of money for Nature Improvement Areas (of which we have heard very little since) what has Defra…
So you think that nature conservation isn’t a political subject (2)
Do you think that driven grouse shooting should be banned? Apparently, two-thirds of you do: If we break that down into those who would vote Labour in preference to Conservative then 87% are in favour of a ban of driven grouse shooting: And if we select those that would vote Conservative in preference to…
Labour MPs’ take on the Rally for Nature
Here are three examples of responses from Labout MPs to their constituents on the issues raised by the Rally for Nature last week. You can see that each response is clearly a personal one and that’s why I haven’t revealed the identities of the MPs or their constituents. I’d be interested in any further responses…
Why Labour is doing badly – and how it could do better
It’s a matter of head and heart isn’t it? I am not terribly tribal in my politics. I have been too pragmatic in my life to believe that one side has all the good guys, all the wisdom and all the solutions. That can’t possibly be the case, can it? There are plenty of politicians…