Audience of One

The Green Issue

Today the Independent had a special edition: “The Green Issue”. The front cover carried the headline “The most important issue that we face”.

I’m not a single-issue voter as those who know me will realise. However, as the headline says, I believe the environment to be the most important issue we face politically/as a country/as a planet. What else could have an effect on the whole world in our national policies? Not immigration or top-up fees, that’s for sure.

The interesting thing about this headline is who it’s quoting. Last year when questioned about the environment, this is what Tony Blair said – yet it barely appears in the Labour manifesto. So much for an important issue – Labour don’t think it’s worth including. Any mentions of green issues appear to have been stuck onto their manifesto afterwards, and bear no resemblance to the rhetoric of senior Labour figures – even Blair, to whom the environment is “the most important issue”.

So do the Conservatives present a good opposition to this? Surely if Labour are ignoring it, the Conservatives should pick up on it and fight for the green vote? Well, no. In fact, they’ve pledged to make cuts to the Environment Agency, the political body in charge of protecting the environment in this country. In their manifesto, the environment is mentioned in a subsection of a subsection of a chapter. They also pledge to end “Labour’s war on the motorist” and don’t mention decreasing carbon dioxide levels at all.

On the other hand, the Lib Dems, living up to their slogan of “The Real Opposition”, have a “green thread” running right the way through their manifesto. They mention the word “environment” more than the Greens!

It seems to me that the Lib Dems and the Greens are the only parties taking the environment seriously. If they made an alliance (and didn’t run against each other, as the Lib Dems lose out wherever the Greens make gains) they’d make a fantastic opposition. (They’d make a fantastic Government as well, but I’m not expecting that quite yet. Hey, I’m not even expecting them to become the Opposition yet either…)

As I say, I’m not a single issue voter, and would vote for Labour or the Conservatives given their environmental stances if their other policies pushed me to. The thing is, they don’t. The Lib Dems are a centre-left green liberal party, and I’m a centre-left green liberal (though a conservative evangelical Christian – it’s fun being liberal and conservative) so they’ll be getting my vote. If you’ve got a vote, consider the Lib Dems – and consider some of these facts.

• 50% of waste is recycled in Austia, Germany and the Netherlands, whereas here it’s 18%
• Ten of the hottest years we’ve recorded have occurred in the last fifteen (that’s in the world, not just Britain)
• The average European’s lifespan is reduced by two-thirds of a year due to pollution

I think these issues are rather important, and I hope that the parties make more mention of them in the coming weeks. As of now though, it’s only the Lib Dems and the Greens who are really considering it.

Matthew @ 16:39, April 18, 2005 to Politics, Science/Nature | Comments (2)