On Friday, on the eve of the party conference season, a group of NGOs (including the RSPB) launched its Green Standard report. It provides an assessment of the performance of the three main parties and encourages them to up their game.
The good news is that each of the party does have standard-bearers for the environment. The report singles out Caroline Spelman and Richard Benyon, for example, for providing the right leadership internationally on biodiversity and on fisheries, while Mary Creagh and Hilary Benn are credited for providing stiff opposition to government's proposals for the badger cull, sell-off of forests and planning reforms. Norman Baker seems to get the most consistent environment all-rounder award while Ed Davey also gets praise.
Yet, our overall conclusion is not particularly flattering. Unfortunately, individual good performances are not complemented by visible and consistent leadership.
This is a problem for nature conservation and for combatting climate change - we need more political (and intellectual) energy invested in these issues if we are to address the current state of nature and the state of our climate.
You'll all have your own view of the performance of the parties, but I have been struck by how difficult it seems to be for political leaders to talk about wildlife and nature conservation policy.
Politicians on all sides seem happier discussing the rights and wrongs of environmental policies such as climate change and, now, the plastic bag tax (at last!). This is, by and large, a good thing - it keeps the environment on the political radar. But Messrs Cameron, Clegg and Miliband are nearly silent on the subject of wildlife. In fact, they seem to be happy talking about anything other than the c50,000 species with which we share these islands.
As my boy embarks on first season of contact rugby, through training he is learning to have confidence in tackling. Those that are uncertain or fearful end up with arms flapping as the opponent runs through them. Worse, they drift off the pitch. And that seems to be what has happened with the three leaders. They've vacated the nature pitch.
Which is why, this conference season, we'll be travelling to Brighton, Glasgow, Brighton and then Manchester to engage the parties in a debate about the state of nature. Our parliamentary team will be on the road for the next three weeks and some of us sharing the conversation and dipping in to one or two conferences. It all started on Friday with a debate at the Green Party conference and continues this week with the Liberal Democrats. Next week, I'll be joining the team for the Labour conference.
We want the parties to develop coherent strategies for tackling farmland wildlife declines, for safeguard our seas, for restoring our uplands and for conserving the threatened wildlife of our overseas territories. As each of the parties seek to differentiate themselves from one another in the run up 2015 general election, our job (lobbying bill permitting) is to encourage an arms race for the best policies for nature. And then, we'll work constructively whoever wins. That's what we do - use our voice for nature and cajole others to use theirs.
I'll offer comments on each of the parties over the next three weeks and I encourage you to do the same.
Let's start with the Liberal Democrats - how effectively do you think they are using their voice for nature?
It would be great to hear your views.
Nightjar - this has reminded me to post something on the latest biofuels debacle. I'll do that later. Thank you!
The scary thing is that solving our current challenges is possible - but only through ingenuity and joining up a whole range of different issues - ranging from housing & quality of life, through threats like flooding to energy and farming. At the moment policy makers seem to stumble at the first hurdle time and time again - and it isn't just in the UK, just look at the sorry EU saga over biofuels. Making the links - building sophisticated approaches takes both serious expertise and a creative environment that encourages 'what if ?' questions. Government squanders skill with gay abandon and the fraught overpoliticised atmosphere all the parties have worked hard to create bodes badly for us getting to the next big flood before it gets to us.
To be honest I have been disappointed by the Lib Dems in the coalition government and there apparent lack of proactive support for nature and wildlife. For example they should be strongly supporting better protection for birds of prey, especially the need to rid this country of the illegal killing of hen harriers and golden eagles related to grouse moor activities.There seems to be a stony silence from them on this and so many other key nature conservation issues.
Having said this, I should mention that when I write on RSPB/nature conservation matters to my MEPS, my MP and my brother writes to his MP who is a Lib Dem, it is the Lib Dem MPs and MEPs who are usually the most helpful and who consistently reply to my letters. Steve Webb, my brother's Lib Dem MP is always very helpful and always replies.
From my experience, MPs/ MEPs from one of the other main parties fall a bit behind the Lib Dems in replies and helpfulness and the other main party is quite a long way behind them.
I fully agree Martin with all you say regarding the lack of leadership by senior politicians in preserving our nature and wildlife on which they and everyone else depend It is a strange and myopic attitude, but most of them, I feel are only interested in votes and unfortunately animals and plants don't have a vote. Most of our politicians, but not all, remind me of the quotation "I must find out where my people are going so I can follow them", leadership is not a word you hear much these days.
You might find Ed Davey has to be moved further down this list. I see in his speech today he is pushing for freeing up the Scottish Islands for wind power. This sounds a bit like a re-run of something like the large Lewis windfarm argument