Tories fail every green test in Friends of the Earth report
David Cameron's attempt to turn the Conservative Party green suffered an embarrassing rebuff yesterday, when Friends of the Earth Scotland judged his fellow Scottish Tories to have failed every environmental test.
The parties' manifestos were subjected to the green lobby group's test, and Tories came out by far the worst. Out of a rating of 10, Annabel Goldie's plans scored no points at all.
The group said they welcomed Mr Cameron's concerns about environmental issues, which have spearheaded his moves to shift perceptions of his party. But it said that its reading of the Scottish Tory manifesto left it "very disappointed".
It could find only one proposal to help reduce carbon emissions - a £12m "eco-bonus scheme" to support household and community initiatives in energy saving and renewable power. "This is positive, but completely inadequate in the face of the problem," said the Friends of the Earth report.
A Scottish Tory spokesman responded to the report: "We have focused on the bread and butter issues in our Scottish manifesto whilst preferring to tackle climate change at UK level, where the radical measures can be made."
He added the green pressure group had not given credit to Tory support for development of carbon capture.
The report card on other parties' manifestos gave Scottish Greens top marks, losing only one point over changes to planning law. Scottish Socialists fared well, and LibDems did better than both Labour and the SNP.
Labour was picked up for its vagueness over nuclear power plans, while the SNP was challenged to explain how it can meet its "ambitious" climate change goals while retaining commitments to build roads and expand air travel.
© All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without
permission is prohibited.
Posted by: james on 11:44pm Wed 18 Apr 07
Have a look at the Friends of the Earth site and you'll see that the Greens get 9.5, nine greens and one amber, while no other party manages any more than 3 greens.
And the only reason they got half a mark less is so Friends of the Earth could avoid looking balanced in their favour.
Overall, though, it was quite a surprise that the Tories couldn't even get a half mark anywhere. Looks like they've not even applied a thin Cameroon veneer of green paint!
Have a look at the Friends of the Earth site and you'll see that the Greens get 9.5, nine greens and one amber, while no other party manages any more than 3 greens.
And the only reason they got half a mark less is so Friends of the Earth could avoid looking balanced in their favour.
Overall, though, it was quite a surprise that the Tories couldn't even get a half mark anywhere. Looks like they've not even applied a thin Cameroon veneer of green paint!
Posted by: Les on 9:38am Thu 19 Apr 07
Who gives a toss how green or otherwise the parties are? Any party which bows to the religious green barmies doesn't get my vote. Which means I'll not be voting.
Who gives a toss how green or otherwise the parties are? Any party which bows to the religious green barmies doesn't get my vote. Which means I'll not be voting.
Posted by: Michael Smith, Glasgow on 9:50am Thu 19 Apr 07
Oh dear, Les wont be voting at the election. What a blow to democracy that is.
Anyway, it's good to see the other parties so-called green credentials being shown for what they are - all talk and no action.
Only by giving your 1st vote for the Greens on May 3rd will we see improved public transport, better energy efficiency and a better quality of life.
Oh dear, Les wont be voting at the election. What a blow to democracy that is.
Anyway, it's good to see the other parties so-called green credentials being shown for what they are - all talk and no action.
Only by giving your 1st vote for the Greens on May 3rd will we see improved public transport, better energy efficiency and a better quality of life.
Posted by: Corra, Spain on 10:30am Thu 19 Apr 07
Hardly a big surprise, but good to see the press finally noticing that all that glitters is not green. If we want a Scotland to vote for (independent or not) we better get greener sooner.
Hardly a big surprise, but good to see the press finally noticing that all that glitters is not green. If we want a Scotland to vote for (independent or not) we better get greener sooner.
Posted by: Stuart Douglas, Edinburgh on 11:02am Thu 19 Apr 07
Green issues are going to dominate the 21st century political scene - they already are. We need a strong Green representative at Holyrood if we are to stop the likes of the Lib Dems wasting billions on new roads which will do NOTHING to ease congestion and cut pollution.
Even Steven Norris, The Conservative Transport Minister in the early 1990s had to finally admit that building new roads was not the answer. All they did was encourage more people to drive and soon the congestion and pollution was as bad as it was before.
We need huge investment in public transport so that people are able to get to and fro work quickly and comfortably. We need better energy efficient homes and businesses to we can stop burning fossil fuels and end our reliance on nuclear power. We need an economy that puts the environment.
After all, we have a strong economy and all the mod cons we could hope for but poll after poll shows that people are less happy now than they were a generation ago.
Time to put people first - 1st vote Green on May 3rd.
Green issues are going to dominate the 21st century political scene - they already are. We need a strong Green representative at Holyrood if we are to stop the likes of the Lib Dems wasting billions on new roads which will do NOTHING to ease congestion and cut pollution.
Even Steven Norris, The Conservative Transport Minister in the early 1990s had to finally admit that building new roads was not the answer. All they did was encourage more people to drive and soon the congestion and pollution was as bad as it was before.
We need huge investment in public transport so that people are able to get to and fro work quickly and comfortably. We need better energy efficient homes and businesses to we can stop burning fossil fuels and end our reliance on nuclear power. We need an economy that puts the environment.
After all, we have a strong economy and all the mod cons we could hope for but poll after poll shows that people are less happy now than they were a generation ago.
Time to put people first - 1st vote Green on May 3rd.
Posted by: Neil 9% Growth Party, Glasgow on 11:05am Thu 19 Apr 07
Les the 9% Growth party is standing on the Glasgow list. Ourvrecognition of the catastrophe that will certainly happen if we don't replace the 50% of electricity about to retire with nuclear & our other pro-growth & technology policies should satisfy you.
If 7% of those who aren't going to bother voting instead vote for this we will certainl;y get a seat. If they don't no complaints about blackouts & "green" taxes.
Les the 9% Growth party is standing on the Glasgow list. Ourvrecognition of the catastrophe that will certainly happen if we don't replace the 50% of electricity about to retire with nuclear & our other pro-growth & technology policies should satisfy you.
If 7% of those who aren't going to bother voting instead vote for this we will certainl;y get a seat. If they don't no complaints about blackouts & "green" taxes.
Posted by: Pete, Glasgow on 11:21am Thu 19 Apr 07
The Greens have screwed themselves over, they'll never get anywhere wanting to abolish Catholic schools and neither they should.
Why is this the only society in the Western world where faith schooling is an issue? Couldn't be the racism against Catholics personified by the Green Party.
The Greens have screwed themselves over, they'll never get anywhere wanting to abolish Catholic schools and neither they should.
Why is this the only society in the Western world where faith schooling is an issue? Couldn't be the racism against Catholics personified by the Green Party.
Posted by: Susan macLeod, Glasgow on 11:21am Thu 19 Apr 07
Neil 9% Growth Party
How was it the Scotsman described your party yesterday? Oh yeah, "faintly ridiculous"
A bunch of weird, right-wing nutters would have been more appropriate.
Neil 9% Growth Party
How was it the Scotsman described your party yesterday? Oh yeah, "faintly ridiculous"
A bunch of weird, right-wing nutters would have been more appropriate.
Posted by: Michael Douglas, Glasgow on 11:24am Thu 19 Apr 07
Pete
The only people making a big issue out of the faith-schools is the Catholics. It isn't even one of the Green party pledges. It was voted for very narrowly at last years AGM despite Robin Harper encouraging people to vote against the proposal.
"Why is this the only society in the Western world where faith schooling is an issue?" you ask,
Why is it the only country where people beat each other up on a Saturday night after game of football because one set perceives themselves as catholics and the other protestants?
Anyway, I think you'll find that the idea to abolish faith-schools is quite popular among the electorate.
Pete
The only people making a big issue out of the faith-schools is the Catholics. It isn't even one of the Green party pledges. It was voted for very narrowly at last years AGM despite Robin Harper encouraging people to vote against the proposal.
"Why is this the only society in the Western world where faith schooling is an issue?" you ask,
Why is it the only country where people beat each other up on a Saturday night after game of football because one set perceives themselves as catholics and the other protestants?
Anyway, I think you'll find that the idea to abolish faith-schools is quite popular among the electorate.
Posted by: Neil 9% Growth, Glasgow on 12:03pm Thu 19 Apr 07
Didn't see that Susan so I obviously cannot comment on that. Since the most serious comment you can give is to call people "nutters". If you have any specific disagreement which you are capable verbalising I would be happy to set you straight.
Didn't see that Susan so I obviously cannot comment on that. Since the most serious comment you can give is to call people "nutters". If you have any specific disagreement which you are capable verbalising I would be happy to set you straight.
Posted by: Neil 9% Growth party, Glasgow on 12:14pm Thu 19 Apr 07
OK Susan & it is clear that you have not told the truth. The article in question is a listing of all the small partieswith a headline of "the good, the bad & the faintly ridiculous". Personally I would suggest we are the good. All the article says about us is that we are in favour of 9% growth. If ireland is managing 7% & China & India 10% presumably they arec all also run by "nutters".
My I suggest that the Lab/Libs having managed only an abysmal 1.5% could do with reaching our standards of sanity. I await your thought out criticism not rudeness & lies about what you didn't read elsewhere.
OK Susan & it is clear that you have not told the truth. The article in question is a listing of all the small partieswith a headline of "the good, the bad & the faintly ridiculous". Personally I would suggest we are the good. All the article says about us is that we are in favour of 9% growth. If ireland is managing 7% & China & India 10% presumably they arec all also run by "nutters".
My I suggest that the Lab/Libs having managed only an abysmal 1.5% could do with reaching our standards of sanity. I await your thought out criticism not rudeness & lies about what you didn't read elsewhere.
Posted by: Tony on 1:32pm Thu 19 Apr 07
The FOE and Greens are a waste of time. Both have been contacted with information about the illegally burning of sludge at the Longannet power plant. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is allowing ScottishPower to burn sludge illegally despite a 2005 court ruling against it. The FOE never replied to my email and the Greens have done nothing. Even Mark Ballard had the audacity to voice his support for biomass burning at the Green debate at the Hub on Tuesday night. Well SP are doing this now and heavy metals are being burned and emitted into the atmosphere, but then both the FOE and Greens would prefer carcinogens of the chemical variety over nuclear- both cause cancer, but too complex a problem for them to grasp.
The FOE and Greens are a waste of time. Both have been contacted with information about the illegally burning of sludge at the Longannet power plant. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is allowing ScottishPower to burn sludge illegally despite a 2005 court ruling against it. The FOE never replied to my email and the Greens have done nothing. Even Mark Ballard had the audacity to voice his support for biomass burning at the Green debate at the Hub on Tuesday night. Well SP are doing this now and heavy metals are being burned and emitted into the atmosphere, but then both the FOE and Greens would prefer carcinogens of the chemical variety over nuclear- both cause cancer, but too complex a problem for them to grasp.
Posted by: james on 2:05pm Thu 19 Apr 07
On the Catholic schools thing, 59% of Catholics wanted an end to separate faith schools - they lead to discrimination against Catholics in particular (You went to St Aloysius? Thanks for your application, but...).
Reference here: http://education.guardian.co.uk/faithschools/story/0,,1134643,00.html
We're way off topic, I apologise for that.
On the Catholic schools thing, 59% of Catholics wanted an end to separate faith schools - they lead to discrimination against Catholics in particular (You went to St Aloysius? Thanks for your application, but...).
Reference here: http://education.guardian.co.uk/faithschools/story/0,,1134643,00.html
We're way off topic, I apologise for that.
Posted by: Susan MacLeod, Glasgow on 4:00pm Thu 19 Apr 07
James
As a catholic I have been told by other catholics how to vote at this election. But I refuse to be told what to do. I shall be voting Green on May 3rd because they are the only party that actually cares about the environment.
The faith schools issue has been blown out of all proportion - it's not even one of their main pledges.
Anyway, there's more important things in the world to worry about.
James
As a catholic I have been told by other catholics how to vote at this election. But I refuse to be told what to do. I shall be voting Green on May 3rd because they are the only party that actually cares about the environment.
The faith schools issue has been blown out of all proportion - it's not even one of their main pledges.
Anyway, there's more important things in the world to worry about.
Posted by: Neil 9% Growth, Glasgow on 5:23pm Thu 19 Apr 07
Susan I would not call you a "nutter" merely because you believe in destroying Scotlans'd environment with many thousands of windmills or because you believe in global warming or are a follower of a movement which has professed a belief in global cooling, peak oil by 2005, 1990, 1980, 1970, that "phasing out the human race will solve all problems", that cannibalism is a "radical but realistic solution to the problem of overpopulation.", that by 1980 all important life in the sea was extinct, that zinc, gold, tin, copper, oil, and natural gas were completely exhausted by 2003 & that Holland will be underwater by 2007.
On the other hand & your party owe me an apology.
PS Can you name a single scare story produced by the Green party which has actually, over a period of time, proven to be truthful?
Susan I would not call you a "nutter" merely because you believe in destroying Scotlans'd environment with many thousands of windmills or because you believe in global warming or are a follower of a movement which has professed a belief in global cooling, peak oil by 2005, 1990, 1980, 1970, that "phasing out the human race will solve all problems", that cannibalism is a "radical but realistic solution to the problem of overpopulation.", that by 1980 all important life in the sea was extinct, that zinc, gold, tin, copper, oil, and natural gas were completely exhausted by 2003 & that Holland will be underwater by 2007.
On the other hand & your party owe me an apology.
PS Can you name a single scare story produced by the Green party which has actually, over a period of time, proven to be truthful?
Posted by: Susan Macleod, Glasgow on 6:51pm Thu 19 Apr 07
Neil - I'm sorry - your clearly quite a well rounded chap.
Now, excuse me while I look out my window for flying pigs.
Neil - I'm sorry - your clearly quite a well rounded chap.
Now, excuse me while I look out my window for flying pigs.
Posted by: David Smith, Aberdeen on 8:03pm Thu 19 Apr 07
If you care about your independence and realise that the green rhetoric is about power over our lives and taking more of our money, vote UKIP.
If you care about your independence and realise that the green rhetoric is about power over our lives and taking more of our money, vote UKIP.
Posted by: Michael Smith, Glasgow on 8:15pm Thu 19 Apr 07
UKIP? They make the 9% Growth Party look sensible - and that's saying something!
It must be costing you a fortune standing in every election and never getting your deposit back - never mind actually winning anything.
UKIP? They make the 9% Growth Party look sensible - and that's saying something!
It must be costing you a fortune standing in every election and never getting your deposit back - never mind actually winning anything.
Posted by: Neil 9% Growth, Glasgow on 10:13am Fri 20 Apr 07
Apology accepted Susan. I'm sure you will blame your flying pigs on global warming. You blame everything else for it.
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/2045/
Apology accepted Susan. I'm sure you will blame your flying pigs on global warming. You blame everything else for it.
http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/2045/
Politics
INDEX
Comment | Read Comments (19)
