30/09/08
Prospects for environment policy under a Cameron government were shared last week in an Institute of Contemporary Arts seminar entitled 'Green-Blue - The New Tory Environmentalism'.
Tim Yeo MP, chair of the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee, made a good case for the compatibility of conservative principles and environmentalism. He confirmed the commitment of David Cameron and those around him but regretted that he couldn't say it was shared throughout the party.
From the left the commentator and activist George Monbiot agreed there was potential in what he had heard so far but criticised the party's climate change policy and urged tighter regulatory and fiscal action.
The overall conclusion was: jury still out on whether policy would be refreshed in a blue-green dawn. Some people it seems still harbour suspicions that the leadership sees environmentalism more as a device to change perceptions of the party than a core government policy.
