Labour fired the starting gun in Manchester last weekend, with the Conservative conference currently underway in Birmingham and the Lib Dems due to meet in Glasgow at the end of this week. Key issues on the agenda so far have been, rightly, debate over devolution, the economy and healthcare.
Largely notable by its absence has been any real talk of substance over the environment, and in particular waste and recycling. While this is unlikely to be a pivotal issue come polling time – with England desperately in need of a strategy to turn around its flat-lining recycling rates, wouldn’t it provide some encouragement to find out what the parties have planned?
Labour leader Ed Miliband did at least hint that the environment is on his radar, laughing off David Cameron’s suggestion that his is the ‘greenest government ever’, and pledging to give more borrowing powers to the Green Investment Bank. Beyond this however recycling and resources hardly featured on the Labour conference line-up.
Conservatives
So to the Conservatives in Birmingham today (September 29), with Environment Secretary Liz Truss giving what is probably her highest profile speech since being appointed to the government’s front bench in July.
In what felt like a nervy address, Ms Truss focused on areas of the Defra brief more in-keeping with traditional Conservative values such as the countryside and farming, offering little credence to the ‘greenest government’ tag. Even the outspoken Communities Minister Eric Pickles chose not to opine on a subject that by now must be second nature to him – weekly waste collections – during his afternoon speech.
Today did see the launch of ‘Green Conservatism’ – a document published by the Green Alliance outlining the views of a group of Tory MPs on resource sustainability, but whether like the 2020 Conservatives’ ambitious ‘Sweating Our Assets’ paper, published in February, this will fail to make it beyond backbench debate remains to be seen.
Could the Liberal Democrats pull out a surprise with some meaningful policies on the environment, recycling and resources when they kick off this weekend? Over to you Clegg, Rogerson and colleagues…
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