I don't think yesterday was quite the 'Black Wednesday' we feared but the content of the Budget meant that it was still a grey day. Lots about grey infrastructure and very little talk about about green/natural infrastructure which is just as crucial to our lives.
I noted the more moderate tone but I was certainly not dancing a jig of joy in the Lodge garden. I would argue that the Chancellor George Osborne continued the UK along an economic path which locks us into an unsustainable, high carbon and a short termist response to the economic crisis.
His plan for growth clearly involves building more infrastructure: more roads and more runways and even tax breaks for deep sea oil drilling off Shetland (home to internationally important populations of seabirds). I struggle to see how this is compatible with the green economy we have been promised by this Government.
Of course, revitalising our development is necessary if the UK is to remain competitive but this was an opportunity to put us on a different path - one which decouples economic growth from environmental harm and drives us towards a low Carbon economy. I don't think the Chancellor has put us on this path.
There was one memorable barbed soundbite from Mr Osborne. He said that ‘environmentally sustainable has to be financially sustainable’. I've always seen it the other way round - a sustaniable economy has to one that is environmentally sustainable. This is why we need an economic plan for growth which puts the environment at the heart of decision making.
In the opening paragraph of the Government’s own Natural Environment White paper last year we welcomed the Defra view that, ‘a healthy, properly functioning natural environment is the foundation of sustained economic growth, prospering communities and personal well being’.
Professor Dieter Helm, announced as the new chair of the Natural Capital Committee, will have his work cut out. His challenge will be to convince the Treasury that the full value of the environment is taken into account in decision-making. And he won't be able to rely on utilitarian arguments alone. While I am partly convinced that it is possible to price water and carbon, we are doomed if we need to rely on pricing species. Ultimately, how much wildlife we want in this country will be a political decision. And any smart politician will recognise that millions of people want wildlife to be part of their lives.
Yesterday's Budget made me wonder how the many Liberal Democrats and Conservatives who are passionate about the environment are feeling. They share the view that the countryside and our widlife are assets which we should pass on to the next generation in an enhanced state.
But the story is still unfolding.
This morning, the Government will release full details of its review of the Habitats Regulations – the most important system of protection for wildlife rich habitats. On Tuesday next week it will also unveil its long awaited reform of the planning system.
We will only have the full picture when once the dust has settled on these announcements.
Until then it would be great hear your views on the Budget.
The Tories promised a lot of things and as usual, they failed to deliver. They would turn Britain into a gigantic shopping mall if left to their own devices. Remember a few months ago they wanted to sell off our forests? Wildlife is probably only marginally higher than the poor on their agenda, so we are peeing into the wind expecting anything from them....
Alas Redkite - you are clutching at straws. It's still on the table.
One last point from yesterday's budget speech was that at one stage Mr Osborne specifically mentioned the Lord Mayor of London, Mr Boris Johnson and sighted a number of his development initiatives for London including another proposed Thames crossing. However he did not mention the "bonkers" Thames Estuary Airport proposal by Mr Johnson. I thought that was possibly a significant omission, but on the other hand I may be clutching at straws.
redkite
Have just read the RSPB news report regarding the results of DEFRA's review of the Habitat Regulations and the conclusion they are "no brake on development". I hope Mr Osborne receives that message very loudly and very clearly. Notwithstanding, I don't expect the environment and wildlife protection are "out of the wood" yet, however maybe today, as against yesterday, is a day with the odd sunny period!!
I never assumed that the Tories meant anything by there promises re "the greenest government ever"; like with promises not to raise VAT and no fundamental reform of the NHS (Lord Carter at Monitor is head of a US health care co.), these were "promises" that gained the right/neo con the rich the levers of power. No wonder trust in politics is low when the once sacred "election mannifesto" can be so reduced.
This budget with its tax reductions for the rich bares the Tory soul for all to see. I do not believe that any form of "sustainability" can be delivered while most UK wealth is hoarded or asset stripped into offshore tax havens, Jersey, isle of Man, Bermuda etc less important for biodiversity than Tristan da Cunha but where a certain breed of vulture, closely related to the Tory Party, resides.
Peter Plover