We’re on the brink of a UK General Election which has been more uncertain than any in recent years. I must declare an interest here as I’m actually a candidate (a Lib Dem standing in what is on paper a safe Labour seat), but I’m not going to pitch for votes here – this blog has always been strictly non-partisan.
What is shocking however, is the almost complete lack of environmental debate in the run up. We had one question on green issues across all three televised debates. And, frankly, the pledges of the big three parties are almost interchangeable – insulating homes, electric vehicles, green collar jobs etc, etc – all good stuff, but it would nice to see some more innovation – where is the push for home working, or the priority of cycle routes in inner city areas? Even the Greens, who might have a sniff of their first seat in Brighton, have spent most of their time talking about electoral reform, cleaning up politics, public spending and other ‘mainstream’ topics – and even their green policies fit the same template as above, with the exception of swinging aviation taxes.
The answer is of course the same as why the budget deficit is being sidelined by the parties – no one wants to vote for pain, or anything that could be construed as pain. And with much of the media still sceptical about climate change theory, they’re not exactly pushing the parties to answer the tough questions either. So it goes.
Well, I’ve got doors to knock on…