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#GE2017: Greater Manchester survey finds cross-party support on environment – but no Conservatives respond

news release

Manchester Friends of the Earth are today publishing the results of an online survey of the Greater Manchester General Election candidates. The survey asked candidates to tell their electorate where they stand on 12 key environmental issues including air pollution, fracking, climate change, energy, waste, farming, and climate refugees. (1)

Overall, 51 of the 134 candidates completed the survey, representing a total of 8 parties – a turnout of 38%. .Not a single Conservative Party candidate across Greater Manchester responded. (2)

The result of the EU referendum means that the next government will have unprecedented choices to make about how to protect people’s health, rejuvenate our wildlife and green spaces, and meet our international commitments to tackle climate change. The next Government must demonstrate global leadership on shared environmental problems, especially climate change – which is already bringing chaos to the lives of millions in the world’s poorest countries and flooding misery here in the North West and in other areas of the United Kingdom.

The candidates that responded showed cross-party support for action on the 12 key environmental issues highlighted in the survey (3) including:

* Introducing a new Clean Air Act (94% support)

* Urgent action for the UK to play our part in delivering the Paris Climate Agreement goal to keep global temperature rises below 1.5 degrees (92% support)

* A permanent and comprehensive ban on bee-harming neonicotinoid chemicals, and ensuring future pesticide regulations are science based, precautionary, independent and transparent (96% support)

* All the existing EU environmental laws and principles to be fully maintained in UK or devolved nation law (90% support)

* A national programme to insulate at least 1 million homes per year over the course of the next parliament (98% support)

* Support for the statement: “If my constituency is at risk of fracking, I will oppose it. If my constituency is not at risk, I will oppose fracking nationwide.” (88% support)

* The least popular policy proved to be the introduction of a Frequent Flyer levy (67% support).

Nationally, the Green Party, Labour Party and Liberal Democrats all oppose fracking (4) whilst the Conservative Party has announced support for fracking and changes to the planning requirements (5) that it has been argued would mean: “Exploratory drilling for shale gas will be subject to the same level of planning permission as a boundary wall in your back-garden, or a new window on your roof.” (6)

Friends of the Earth’s view of the Conservative Party manifesto policy on fracking is “There’s no nice way of saying this, the Conservatives’ policy on fracking is awful. An undemocratic and desperate set of policies to over-rule local communities and rig the planning system in favour of this dirty fossil fuel. The other parties are united in their opposition to fracking.” (7)

Friends of the Earth has reviewed each of the main parties’ manifestos and scored them on their environmental policies. The Green Party scored 46 out of a total of 48, followed by Labour on 34, the Liberal Democrats on 32 and the Conservatives on 11. (7)

Dr Ali Abbas, Manchester Friends of the Earth co-ordinator said:

“Our environment is in crisis, and the harm done by toxic air and run-away climate change is costing lives now – which makes it all the more surprising that none of the local Conservative candidates responded to our survey.

“The good news is that there is strong support from most of the other parties for urgent action to tackle illegal air pollution, climate change and other key environmental concerns.

“In the absence of any Conservative responses, voters can only go off their national manifesto, which lags well behind the other main parties on issues such as fracking and air pollution.“

Manchester Friends of the Earth is a politically impartial organisation. Our aim is to ensure all parties have the strongest possible policies to protect the environment, and that they can be held to account for them in future. (8)

ENDS

Contact for comments:

Pete Abel, Manchester Friends of the Earth. Mobile: 07951 642858

Ali Abbas, Manchester Friends of the Earth. Mobile: 07786 090520

Notes to editors

1) The Manchester Friends of the Earth General Election 2017 environment survey can be accessed via: https://www.manchesterfoe.org.uk/general-election-2017/

Candidates scorecards can be accessed at https://www.manchesterfoe.org.uk/election-survey-2017-national-candidates/

Summary of responses by political party can be accessed at https://www.manchesterfoe.org.uk/election-survey-2017-summary-parties/

The 12 survey questions are shown below.

Q1 – Will you support a new Clean Air Act?

Q2 – Do you support a Frequent Flyer levy?

Q3 – Do you agree the Government should urgently publish a UK climate strategy to play our part in delivering the Paris Climate Agreement goal to keep global temperature rises below 1.5 degrees?

Q4 – Will you support the following statement: “If my constituency is at risk of fracking, I will oppose it. If my constituency is not at risk, I will oppose fracking nationwide.”?

Q5 -Do you support the next Government setting a target for making all electricity generation “carbon free” by 2030?

Q6 – Will you support a national programme to insulate at least 1 million homes per year over the course of the next parliament?

Q7 – Will you call for all the existing EU environmental laws and principles to be fully maintained in UK or devolved nation law?

Q8 – Will you support a permanent and comprehensive ban on neonicotinoid chemicals, and ensure future pesticide regulations are science based, precautionary, independent and transparent?

Q9 – Will you support the introduction of a binding target to halve food waste from farm to fork by 2030?

Q10 – Will you support a new food and farming policy – that protects and enhances the ecosystems that underpin food production, builds resilience to climate change and supports sustainable diets?

Q11 – Will you support the inclusion of rights and protection of climate refugees in international law?

Q12 – Will you protect the freedom to campaign by voting to reform the Lobbying Act?

2) Between 17th May and 5th June 2017, we sent emails and twitter messages three times to all the candidates we could find contact details for (127 of the 134). The local political parties were also contacted by email and twitter requesting that they ask their candidates to respond. In addition, members of the public also tweeted to some of the candidates encouraging them to respond.

3) A PDF with the results by political party is available via DropBox.

4) Manifesto statements from Green Party, Labour Party and Liberal Democrats.

We will introduce a ban on fracking” (Green Party).

Labour will ban fracking because it would lock us into an energy infrastructure based on fossil fuels, long after the point in 2030 when the Committee on Climate Change says gas in the UK must sharply decline.” (Labour Party). 

Liberal Democrats will “Oppose ‘fracking’ because of its adverse impact on climate change, the energy mix, and the local environment.”

5) Conservative Party Manifesto 2017.

We will legislate to change planning law for shale applications. Non-fracking drilling will be treated as permitted development, expert planning functions will be established to support local councils, and, when necessary, major shale planning decisions will be made the responsibility of the National Planning Regime.”

6) Greenpeace EnergyDesk. Fracking: Drilling to require the same planning permission as wall, says Tory manifesto.

7) Friends of the Earth: Election manifestos: the scores are in: https://www.foe.co.uk/general-election/election-manifestos-scores-are

8) Friends of the Earth have produced an informative “Your Survival Guide to the 2017 General election. See: https://www.foe.co.uk/general-election

9) Manchester Friends of the Earth is an award-winning environmental campaign group, raising awareness and lobbying for policy changes at a local, regional, national and international level. The group consists entirely of volunteers, and its campaigns are funded by membership fees and individual donations.

Up-to-date information is available on the group’s website: www.manchesterfoe.org.uk. Manchester Friends of the Earth is a Licensed Local Group of Friends of the Earth, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. www.foe.co.uk

 

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