Tree Talk Party Conference Special!
We've had the election - what's next?...
We’ve had the first summer election in the UK since 1945 deliver a new government after 14 years of Conservative Party administration (including the coalition years from 2010-2015). We’ve had the parliamentary recess, and now we have had a full run of party conferences in Liverpool, Birmingham and Bournemouth.
But what did each party say about environment and climate related policies?
Before the election, Tree Talk took a look through all the main party manifestos to assess each offer in the context of trees, biodiversity, nature recovery, environmental protection and adaptation to a changing climate. And now we are going to do the same with each of the party conferences.
We’ll start with the new party in power, Labour. For a reminder of each party’s manifesto promises, take another look at the Tree Talk Election Special.
Labour
It was a soggy Liverpool welcoming the now governing Labour party. Sir Keir Starmer’s first conference speech as Prime Minister was light on detail around the environment specifically but did include confirmation that the promised Great British Energy will be based in Aberdeen. Chancellor Rachel Reeves did touch on other manifesto commitments more fully. The energy profits levy on oil and gas producers will be extended and the money raised invested in ‘home grown energy’. UK industrial strategy will focus on making Britain an energy superpower and accelerating net zero.
New Energy Security and Net Zero Minister, Ed Miliband said the Conservatives’ ban on onshore wind had been “swept away in 72 hours”, while blocked solar farm plans had been unlocked in his first week. He said Labour believes the British people have the right to own and benefit from natural resources, adding his party’s mission is “social justice, economic justice and climate justice”, with an ambition to reach clean power by 2030, through onshore wind, solar, offshore wind, nuclear, hydrogen and carbon capture. Miliband concluded with the message “Britain is back in the business of climate leadership”.
Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, Technology and Innovation, took up the theme, saying the “number one mission” is to be the partner scientists need to tackle climate change. Transport Minister, Louise Haigh, told conference that legislation had already been introduced to make the aviation industry greener, as well as action to tackle “divisive language” on walking and cycling. Haigh also promised significant focus on improving public transport.
Steve Reed, Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) devoted the majority of his speech to sewage, promising to clean up the waterways and ban multimillion pound bonuses for polluting water bosses. He also pledged to back farmers to restore nature, plant trees along river banks to prevent flooding, and plant three new national forests. He said the natural environment was the most important foundation to fix.
New Foreign Secretary, David Lammy promised to help restore Britain’s climate leadership by leading a new Global Clean Power Alliance, adding that the climate and nature crisis will be central to all that the Foreign Office does.
Conservatives
Now out of power, the purpose of conference for the Conservatives differs to Labour, so we have much less detail around policy. This isn’t a new government talking up their plans but a reduced party considering next steps, starting with the election of a new leader. We heard from all four contenders (as was) in Birmingham.
On this occasion, there was less detail on environment related policy positions - outside of energy security - with the focus elsewhere, on subjects like immigration, the economy and the NHS.
Andrew Bowie, Shadow Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero, devoted much of his speech to assessing where the Conservatives had gone wrong, and particularly why the party attracts so little support from young people. He ended by highlighting the importance of energy security, the creation of new jobs, and people’s desire to upskill, learn side skills or even change profession.
A number of fringe events at the conference did get more stuck into environment related challenges and opportunities. The Conservative Environment Network and The Wildlife Trusts led a panel on food security and tackling farmland flooding and drought, that included reference to soil health. The Conservative Rural Forum panel heard criticism of the previous government’s handling of sewage, and how this negatively impacted the rural vote. This thread was followed in a fringe event on solar, where the benefits of net zero for rural communities were talked up. The Conservative Environment Network also led a panel on water quality that included requests for tougher penalties for polluters, more partnership working and to stop pollution at source. Elsewhere around the fringe, there were sessions on whether the UK is ready for the energy transition and what’s next for the Conservatives approach to energy and net zero.
In Rishi Sunak’s first conference speech since leaving Number 10, he praised his party’s “pragmatic” approach to net zero and criticised Labour’s Ed Miliband for what he called “eco-zealotry”.
Liberal Democrats
Like the Conservatives, the Lib Dems go into the new parliament as a party without power but the mood music is very different after their best general election result ever, returned their highest number of MPs.
Lib Dem leader, Ed Davey reaffirmed the party’s three areas of focus: getting the economy back on track; ending the sewage scandal and protecting the environment; and fixing the NHS and social care; but focused more on the NHS, the economy, Europe and fighting extremism, in his conference speech.
We heard a little more from Alex Cole Hamilton MSP, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats. He said that rural communities are the “powerhouses” for a renewable revolution to move towards net zero and guarantee energy security. But he said they needed support to modernise in order to feel the full benefit, with an emphasis on good housing and access to decent employment.
At a fringe event on investment in the transition and the green infrastructure, Sarah Olney, Lib Dem spokesperson for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, spoke of the importance of a stable environment, infrastructure investment, skills development, and regulation, to investors. Panellists said the vast majority of their institutional contacts had made commitments to net zero.
Reform
New kids on the block, Reform reached our “major party” definition by securing five parliamentary seats (as defined in our Tree Talk Election Special). Although Reform has political priorities that aren’t the environment, we are including them in this overview.
The party only mentioned the environment in a negative light at its conference in Birmingham. Re-elected MP, Lee Anderson used some of his speech to attack direct action activists, while newly elected MP, and Deputy Leader, Richard Tice described the goal of reaching net zero as an “extremist cult”.