Greening the Manifesto

by Rebecca Willis

New Ground 60
Winter 2000

What should SERA be doing in the run up to the next election? Rebecca Willis explains SERA’s strategy as it fights to get sustainable policies into the core of Labour’s campaign

The last few months have been eventful ones for the politics of the environment. We've had Tony Blair's first green speech since coming to power; Stephen Byers proclaiming a 'green industrial revolution'; the Hague climate talks - played out to a backdrop of our very own climate-related flooding - and who could forget the fuel protests?

We're seeing increasing recognition of the environmental imperative as well as spirited resistance to it. But for good or ill, no-one can deny that the environment's been hitting the headlines.

The challenge now for SERA is to keep this momentum going into the general election campaign. We've been working hard to make sure the environment isn't given a back seat as the fight really gets under way. Health, education and law and order may be the backbone of any campaign, but research for the RSPB has shown that voters see the environment to be as important in deciding votes as taxation. It is also much more important than either Europe or immigration. And tantalisingly, nearly a third of the electorate does not know which party has the best policy on the environment, which means Labour has everything to play for.

SERA has played an important role in developing Labour's environmental policy in this government, as well as helping the party develop plans for the next term, through our role in the National Policy Forum and the Partnership in Power process. Chris Hewett's article in the last edition of New Ground explained the work we have done to push the environment as a policy issue.

We've secured some important policies for the next term, like the pledge to eradicate fuel poverty by 2010 by providing warm homes for all. However, the policies people really talk about are the ones that make it into the manifesto. Between now and the election we'll make the political case for our policies and push for them to feature in both the manifesto and the election campaign.

SERA argues that there are four headline environmental themes that should make it into the manifesto. These are:

Put people at the heart of transport
Transport has been a high-profile issue throughout Labour's first term. Some important policies have been put in place, but most of the electorate has seen little improvement. The manifesto provides the chance to give clear pledges for the next term. Specific policies advocated by SERA include putting pedestrian planning at the heart of transport policy; extending concessionary fares; revitalising rural bus services and connecting every town in Britain of 25,000 people or more to the rail network.

Greening the economy
Both environmental and economic opportunities can be created by cutting waste and inefficiency in our homes and businesses; creating new jobs from environmental industries and increasing the environmental productivity of our economy. Taxes like the climate change levy and the aggregates tax, plus carefully designed incentives, play a key role in making the economy leaner and greener. But as the recent fuel-duty debate shows, the strong political arguments behind environmental policies must be communicated clearly to combat irresponsible short-termism. So our specific pledges focus on supporting green energy and jobs and introducing doorstep recycling for every household in Britain. These are pledges that are both popular and easy to communicate in an election campaign.

Combat social exclusion
Those on low incomes are most severely affected by environmental damage. These households can least afford to deal with environmental problems, whether in insulating their houses or buying healthy food. A Labour agenda for the next five years needs to address these issues as a key part of its wider social inclusion strategy. In particular, SERA believes that a focus on ‘warm homes for all’, tackling the problems faced by seven million households that cannot afford to insulate or heat their homes, will have important environmental and social dividends. We also support a noise strategy that would help the millions of people in the UK who are exposed to high levels of noise.

A new deal for food & farmers
Whether it’s the controversy over genetically modified foods or the crisis in farming, food policy brings together key issues for Labour: social exclusion, rural issues and public trust. Dealing with these issues in a positive, joined-up way, through a ‘new deal for food and farmers’, would help to revive consumer trust and bring new support in rural areas. SERA supports policies which encourage farmers to move into organic and other more benign types of farming. We also recommend setting up a ‘Citizens’ Commission’ on environmental risk that would give people a chance to have their say on issues like GM food, improving decision-making and regaining trust.

SERA will be developing these ideas and advocating them to decision-makers in the Labour Party and government. We will be pushing for a strong environmental focus for the manifesto and Labour's next term of office. All four areas that SERA is highlighting are popular with the electorate and fit with Labour's priorities in other areas like health and social exclusion. If Labour is to develop its environmental record and build on its first-term achievements, it needs to be much more strident in making the case for the environment as a political issue. There's no better place to start than the manifesto.

Rebecca Willis is a member of
the SERA Executive Committee.
becky.willis@btinternet.com.