Friday, December 09, 2005
A greener shade of blue
Within 48 hours of becoming the new leader of the Conservative party, David Cameron is establishing his street cred with environmentalists. Today, he launches a new policy group on the environment, the first of six covering different areas. This is to be led by Sir John "beefburger" Gummer, which is hardly a surprise. Alongside him will be Zac Goldsmith, son of the late Sir James, brother to Jemima, editor of the Ecologist (bankrolled by his uncle Teddy) and prospective Tory candidate. He follows the tradition of eco-toffs, being in the company not just of his dotty uncle but also Lord Melchett and Jonathon Porritt (Baron Mond).
The policy group will be launched at the Wildfowl and Wetlands centre in Barnes with Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth in attendance, and, to complete the PR exercise, Cameron was tie-less when interviewed on the Today programme. Now that Tony Blair has announced publicly that the reality of politics means that economic factors have to be taken into account when the Kyoto protocol and other green shibboleths are considered, new boy David is trying to establish the Conservatives as greener than thou. Of course, they have competition from the erstwhile Norman Baker and others in the Lib-Dems, but this party can afford to indulge in some pretty radical policies as it doesn't have a hope in hell of gaining power.
So, where will this environmental enthusiasm lead before the next election? Well, according to a BBCi report this morning (Cameron to focus on the environment), Cameron said:
"The real test will come in 18 months time when we have to show we are prepared to take the tough decisions to meet the carbon reduction targets."
Actually, in 18 months time, it's much more likely that (particularly assuming the government-sponsored Stern report on the economics of climate change policy has been published) the political experience of Sir John Gummer will be called upon to explain that the Conservatives place rather more emphasis on economic growth than trendy green policies. Remember to read this post again in summer 2007...
The policy group will be launched at the Wildfowl and Wetlands centre in Barnes with Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth in attendance, and, to complete the PR exercise, Cameron was tie-less when interviewed on the Today programme. Now that Tony Blair has announced publicly that the reality of politics means that economic factors have to be taken into account when the Kyoto protocol and other green shibboleths are considered, new boy David is trying to establish the Conservatives as greener than thou. Of course, they have competition from the erstwhile Norman Baker and others in the Lib-Dems, but this party can afford to indulge in some pretty radical policies as it doesn't have a hope in hell of gaining power.
So, where will this environmental enthusiasm lead before the next election? Well, according to a BBCi report this morning (Cameron to focus on the environment), Cameron said:
"The real test will come in 18 months time when we have to show we are prepared to take the tough decisions to meet the carbon reduction targets."
Actually, in 18 months time, it's much more likely that (particularly assuming the government-sponsored Stern report on the economics of climate change policy has been published) the political experience of Sir John Gummer will be called upon to explain that the Conservatives place rather more emphasis on economic growth than trendy green policies. Remember to read this post again in summer 2007...
