Be green, vote Labour on Thursday

By Kieran Roberts

With a hung parliament increasingly likely, the popular vote may be more important than ever. Since the Lib Dem bounce in the polls, the Labour and Conservative strategy has simply been to attack them. Whilst the arguments made against the Lib Dems may have been valid, there has not been enough emphasis on why Labour is a positive and attractive alternative.

The same applies to the Green Party. Despite them having no seats in Westminster, they still received 257,758 votes in 2005 and that’s set to increase this time. That number of votes could be vital in the event of a hung parliament, but what’s most important are the issues behind people turning to the Green Party.

To try and reverse some of the huge amount of damage done to our environment during recent decades, primarily in emissions from the US and developing economies, we need a government ready to act and provide a future fair for all. That future includes the people whose lives are already being affected by climate change, people who did not contribute to the problem. In what I think is now one of the greatest modern causes of social justice, this is something the Green Party cannot do, but something Labour already have and will continue to do.

The reasons people vote Green, of course, go beyond this. But bare in mind that when Gordon Brown reeled off Labour’s record since 1997 in his latest conference speech, he could just as easily have done so on the environment.

From the first ever climate change act; the expansion of recycling services; legally binding 80% emissions reduction by 2050; every home with a smart meter by 2020; pollution tax; the Countryside Rights of Way Act; taking a lead from Kyoto to Copenhagen; the Fuel Poverty strategy; a £2 billion Green Investment Bank; investment for high speed rail; 0.7% of GDP for international aid; expanding offshore wind power; no new coal stations without CCS; the fox hunting ban; landfill tax; street by street energy saving schemes; more green jobs; 40% low carbon electricity by 2020; green corridors; wildlife networks; lobbying the EU for higher emissions targets; all new homes zero-carbon by 2016; and new marine conservation zones: “that’s the change we choose.”

Meeting the environmental challenges needs big, decisive government. The ‘Big Society’ will not be a Green Society and the Liberal Democrats aren’t realistic in their targets or their budget. The Labour Party continue to lead globally, nationally and locally on the environment in a way the Green Party never can. If you care about the environment, don’t just ‘send a message’ with a protest vote on Thursday. Vote Labour and keep a government that are progressive, ambitious and green.