So on the day of the IPCC report on Climate Change, the Green Party has been busy. As I write this blog at lunchtime, there in international coverage on the conclusions it reaches. To summarise for you, things are bad, we don’t seem to be doing anything about it and things will get worse.
Caroline Lucas has rightly savaged the coalition claim to be the “greenest government ever”. They have got to be fracking joking! We have long past the point that the Conservative “hug a huskie” moment fooled anyone. The last Liberal Democrat conference with their endorsement of both nuclear power and fracking sealed their fate as well.
So surely Labour could capitalise? Those 1 million+ votes for the Green Party in the European Elections in 2009 went somewhere in 2010 and will count again in 2015. Is Ed Miliband’s team ready to lead from the front where it counts on the environment? After all Ed was a Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change from 2008 to 2010. They wouldn't be pushing for the populist Jeremy Clarkson vote at the expense of sound policy, would they?
The answer is a resounding yes. In what must be a hugely embarrassing moment, as Climate Change gets it most prominent coverage in months and probably years, Liverpool City Council has just scrapped its bus lanes, on a supposedly “trial” basis. That is right, Jokey Joe Anderson, is back in the news with another hilarious scheme, which would have us in stitches with its absurd entertainment value, except for the fact that he is actually Mayor of Liverpool and runs the city.
A quick reminder of Ed’s transport team:
Luciana Berger, Liverpool Wavertree, Shadow Minister for Energy & Climate Change
Maria Eagle, Liverpool Garston & Halewood, Shadow Secretary for Transport
Louise Ellman, Liverpool Riverside, Chair of the Commons Transport Select Committee
So what have we heard from these prominent spokespeople on the abolition of bus lanes? Nothing. Nada. Rien. Kucha nahīṁ.
If you are a voter concerned about the environment or you live in one of the 46% of Liverpool households without access to a car, then you should take note of this. There is no place to hide for Labour on this. Don’t dare make claims about your environmental credentials. The IPCC publish their report and on the same day you undermine public transport in my city. You will not attract green voters, and you do not deserve to.
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