I think I understand why the SNP manifesto ignores the environment almost completely – it’s because wildlife, forestry, agriculture, planning, fisheries etc are all devolved matters. The Scottish parliament already has a very high level of power over these things. However, in a manifesto which says that the SNP ‘will use our influence at Westminster…
Category: THE POLITICS: Ministers, MPs, government policy
UKIP election manifesto
UKIP believes that our ‘history is the envy of the world’ (a rather dubious statement in itself) and maybe that’s why the election manifesto doesn’t point to a very clear future, at least as far as the environment is concerned. The first place, that I noticed, that ‘environment’ crops up is in the section on…
High Peak – a marginal which should have Hen Harriers
High Peak is a marginal which has been the seat of Conservative Andrew Bingham (see here for some information about his voting record) since he won it from Labour in 2010. Mr Bingham asked a question about the publication of the Hen Harrier non-joint non-plan back in November 2014: To ask the Secretary of State…
Green Party manifesto – the call for a peaceful revolution
I guess we’d expect the Greens to know something about green issues so it is reassuring that they do. After the Conservatives treated the countryside as the place that their mates own where they go to kill things at the weekend, and Labour treated it as the place which the Tories own where there are…
Conservative manifesto – they forgot the countryside too
I’m really rather surprised. Five years ago the Conservative manifesto was streets ahead of the others in its treatment of rural, wildlife and some environmental issues. That doesn’t mean I agreed with it, but one could see that someone, somewhere, had given it some thought. I was expecting the same this time around, and I…
Labour’s nature deficit
Whenever I am feeling a bit out of sorts with the Labour party I read the words on the back of my membership card which says ‘by the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone’. I believe that stuff. The trouble is, when it comes to environmental issues, I am…
The general election
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…
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…