Running Order:    Greener UK Hustings – Conservative manifesto commitments – CPRE & Green Alliance Assessments of the Manifestos – Energy – Marine  

1. The GreenerUK Hustings: May 30^th https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/greener-uk-hustings-tickets-34567642750 A rare thing politicians discussing the environment!

2. The Conservative Party manifesto – link:   https://www.conservatives.com/manifesto   Check for yourselves

Bob Earll ‘It seems to be a fair assumption that the Conservatives will return to Government after the election. It is also very clear since the publication of the Conservative manifesto that Theresa May is breaking away from many aspects of thinking of the Cameron – Osborne years and that she is seeking a mandate to back her thinking. So reading the Conservative manifesto becomes a valuable guide towards the policies that will unfold over the next five years in the water, marine, environment, energy and sustainability sectors.

1. Commitment to the 25 year environment plan     On page 26 – paragraph six: ‘Finally, we pledge to be the first generation to leave the environment in a better state than we inherited it. That is why we shall produce a comprehensive 25 year Environment Plan that will chart how we will improve our environment as we leave the European Union and take control of our environmental legislation again.’  No mention now of a 25 agriculture and fisheries plan.
2. Agriculture & Environment   Para 1 p26 maintain the levels of support for farmers (as at present) to the end of the next parliament – 2022 assuming a 5 year parliament. Para 1 page 26: ‘We will work with farmers, food producers and environmental experts across Britain and with devolved administration to device a new agri-environment system, to be introduced in the following parliament.
3. Countryside & Water, Landscape     Para 2 page 26 ‘Our countryside and rural communities have been moulded by generations of farmers. We will help Natural England to expand their provision of technical advice to farmers to deliver environmental improvements on a landscape scale, from enriching soil fertility to planting hedgerows and building drystone walls. We will deliver our commitment to improve natural flood management, such as improving the quality of water courses to protect against soil erosion and damage to vulnerable habitats and communities…..’   No mention of natural capital
4. Litter – the penny has dropped On page 25 there are a number of commitments on litter
5. Oil & Gas & decommissioning   Page 21-22 includes several paragraphs on the continued support for the oil and gas industry and specific commitments to supporting decommissioning work with a new ultra deep water port to support this (p 22).
6. Energy mix   On page 22-23 there are just two paragraphs on how energy will be generated. No mention of Swansea Bay lagoon. Onshore wind in England is rejected again although there is a pledge to meeting global climate change commitments.
7. Gripped by the frackers   By way of contrast the Conservatives are still committed to onshore fracking in England and five paragraphs are devoted to this. Planning requirements are to be lifted and a new specific regulating agency to be set up. Give the remarkable lack of progress on this since it was first greenlighted in 2010 by Cameron & Osborne and the increasing levels of public opposition this emphasis and backing seems very odd and fishy. Page 23.’

Greenpeace on Fracking http://energydesk.greenpeace.org/2017/05/18/comment-tory-manifesto-exempts-drilling-planning-permission-much-like-boundary-wall/

Belinda Gordon CPRE – Manifestos and farming   ‘You may be surprised to hear that I awaited the publication of the party manifestos ahead of the upcoming General Election with even more excitement than usual. This was because, for the first time in my lifetime (over 40 years), parties would be able to outline what sort of agricultural policy each party would put in place if they were elected. No longer hamstrung by the EU Common Agricultural Policy, parties would finally be given free rein to set the kind of farming industry they would help shape post-Brexit.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England, alongside most other Link partners, has a strong interest in this as farming covers about 70% of the land area of England and has helped shape the aesthetics and health of the countryside and our natural environment for millennia. And there is no doubt that policies need to change if we want this influence to continue and have a positive impact in the future.

Green Alliance What are the manifestos promising on the environment?

Posted on 24 May, 2017 by Paul McNamee

Next Tuesday for the first time in this election campaign, the public will get the chance to put questions directly to the major parties’ on their ambitions and aims for the environment in the next parliament at the Greener UK hustings.

The debate will include issues like air quality and pollution, nature protection, international leadership, farming and fisheries, climate change and, perhaps most pertinently, what the UK’s exit from the EU will mean for all of the above. Last week, all the parties helpfully gave an idea of where to pitch questions by releasing their election manifestos, giving us a window on the approach they intend to take towards the environment over the coming five years.

Energy Comments

BusinessGreen are once again quickly off the mark – James Murray. ‘The Conservative manifesto contains plenty of flaws, but like all the main parties policy plans it promises a significant boost for green businesses

‘It is time to celebrate. No, really, bear with me on this, it is. All the main parties have released their manifestos and we can now be certain that this most dispiriting and monotonous of elections will deliver a significant green lining. The UK’s cross party consensus on climate action has held. All the main parties accept climate action is essential and are committed to delivering it. The level of ambition and the precise policy mechanisms proposed may vary, but the direction of travel is clear. The only party whose official stance is a full embrace of aggressive climate scepticism is UKIP – the latest poll puts them on two per cent. To read more click here.

Marine – Conservative manifesto

1. London Convention Withdrawal     On page 27 of the manifesto there is a paragraph on the Common Fisheries Policy post Brexit and it says ‘we will withdraw from the London Convention.’ [See Background] 
2. Coastal Communities Fund     At the bottom of page 26 they commit to continuing with the Coastal Communities Fund until 2022.