Conservative manifesto  I set some ideas out on this last week, here are Bruce Horton’s observations and two more contributions from the Association of Drainage Authorities

Also the Angling Trust.

Conservative Party includes support hydraulic fracturing and all other major parties are opposed, and are backing of the oil and gas sector.

There is no mention of being the greenest government ever and little detail.

But it does promise to ensure critical national infrastructure is protected from foreign ownership, an independent review into the cost of energy, and ensure “all households and businesses have been offered smart meters by 2020”. The energy price cap will now apparently be ‘targeted’ at specific customer groups.

Labour promises an immediate energy price cap to ensure average household bills remain below £1,000 annually, and a clean energy policy based on renewables and efficiency.

It pledges to replace the Conservatives’ Great Repeal Bill with legislation that would ensure EU environmental protections remain unchanged as a result of Brexit.

It will also seek to maintain access to the EU internal energy market and remain in Euratom as a priority, and “provide a strategy to protect North Sea assets and jobs”.

Apparently there’s also something about nationalising water companies.

The Lib Dems would introduce a Zero-Carbon Britain Act, reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2040 then 100% by 2050. They would introduce an Air Quality Plan, stop public subsidies for new nuclear power stations, and pass five green laws that create a framework to maintain and continually improve environmental protections and energy efficiency standards in products. They would set up a £2bn flood-prevention fund to reduce upstream flooding, set up a Cabinet Committee on Sustainability, and put the Natural Capital Committee on a statutory footing.

The Green Party would aim to limit global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and replace gas, coal and nuclear with renewable energy, preferably community owned. There would be a new environmental regulator and court, the protection of existing legislation and a ban on fracking.

Manifesto ideas from Water & Environmental Groups

CIWEM’s six priorities include putting environmental protection at the heart of Brexit, progressive agriculture and land management, long term climate resilience and reform of water abstraction.

Greener UK, a coalition of 13 major environmental organisations with a combined public membership of 7.9 million, wants to see full transposition and maintenance of existing EU environmental laws, and the UK become a world leader in many areas of environmental protection and standards.

The Association of Drainage Authorities has a 7 point water level and flood risk management plan, including backing for SuDS. 

The Angling Trust – Manifesto for Angling

The Angling Trust has challenged politicians and political parties seeking election on June 8th to demonstrate their support for recreational fishing with the publication of a 2017 Manifesto for Angling. Angling Trust members and supporters are being encouraged to contact their local candidates with a copy of the manifesto and secure commitments to protect fisheries and anglers’ rights in the next Parliament. The Trust secured cross-party support for similar manifestos in the 2015 and 2010 General Elections.

The document focuses on four key areas and the main points include:

• A Brexit for fish and fishing: Retain all current EU environmental protections; make Recreational Sea Anglers a fully legitimised user stakeholder group in any new UK fisheries policy and reform the farm subsidy system to ensure that £3 billion of taxpayers’ money is focused on action to address flooding, pollution and habitat damage.

• Responsible management of water: Reform the outdated abstraction regime; introduce national compulsory water metering and build more water storage facilities.

• Recognition, Promotion and Access to Angling: Encourage Local Authorities and other public bodies to open waters to angling; protect the rights of all anglers to fish without fear of harassment and disruption and recognise that voluntary access arrangements are the only way to manage an increase in water based recreation such as canoeing.

• Environment fit for fish and wildlife: Set clear targets and timeframes for rebuilding marine stocks by limiting fishing mortality via a quota system or spatial closures rather than producer-driven ‘effort-based’ systems, such as Days At Sea; take concerted action to address the decline in salmon stocks throughout the UK; tackle invasive non-native species such as signal crayfish, floating pennywort, giant hogweed, Himalayan balsam and mink; reverse the decline in marine fish stocks and recognise the damage caused to inland fisheries by predators such as cormorants, goosanders, mink and otters.

Download a copy of the 2017 Manifesto for Angling