Help us give Labour its voice

By Tom Miller and Kieran Roberts

“When I think about my own children, they will judge me in twenty or thirty years time by the extent to which my generation took the environment and climate change seriously. That is why as part of every aspect of policy – the economy, transport, homes – the environment must be a built in part of what we prioritise.”

Those words are Ed Miliband’s. Over one year in to the job, has his leadership reflected them?

We are not opposing the “greenest government ever”. Under the Coalition, the environment has been held hostage to deficit reduction – but so far our opposition to this has been nowhere near loud enough.

The Lib Dems have paraded their purported gains on the environment as one of the main trophies of coalition.

Presumably, this includes their six week window to devastate micro-generation, or halving the funding to the Green Investment Bank – reducing an idea first mooted by Labour’s leader on a much more ambitious scale, to a gesture that won’t provide the level of investment we need. George Osborne has slashed British commitment to beating our carbon obligations – and our chance of competing in the low carbon future.

The public response to the Forestry Commission sell-off showed us what strong opposition can achieve yet beyond a statement from the shadow minister, we remain silent whilst funding for Feed in Tariffs and renewable energy grants are slashed and energy firms’ profits are allowed to rise by 733% per customer. People are getting angry, so why aren’t we leading the big campaign to voice this anger and move voters?

In London – in part thanks to his axing of the Western Congestion Charge Zone – Boris Johnson presides over ever declining air quality, so poor in fact that London will undoubtedly face European fines this summer.

At all levels, the cuts agenda now means that the days of ‘green Toryism’ are but a heavily polluted memory.

Environmental sustainability should be a key element of social-democratic politics. The importance of sustainability from local quality of life to global fairness is near universally recognised by the left, especially among the young voters who Labour will expect to turn out for them in future elections.

In proposing to break down the monopoly of the big energy companies we made important steps, but now is the time we need to make strides.

Many of those who have joined the party since Ed’s election were defectors from the Liberal Democrats, a party that portrayed themselves as a party of environmentalists. A disproportionate number of new joiners are young, and will only see the importance of climate politics increase in their lives as they grow older. A more consciously environmentalist line would also help to persuade those interested in single issue campaigns to become involved on a party level.

As Progress point out, in many areas where the Green Party polls highly, emotional appeal is key to motivating them. It’s also true that many are voters who previously defected from Labour, often because they felt that it was not a party of a socially liberal, sustainable centre-left. We can do so much so easily to make this change.

Can it be practical? Would it directly meet voters’ concerns?

Posing a green alternative doesn’t mean breaking the bank. Indeed, as the Stern report famously points out, a more carbon efficient economy would mean avoiding substantial financial risk in the future. However with the impact of commodity prices in driving up inflation and energy costs, a key concern for ordinary families with little direct interest in environmentalism, it is something that our party needs a long term green strategy to combat.

Firstly, we are talking about very simple, practical policies, benefiting those who are struggling with everyday issues. Secondly, in the long term, such a green approach can make public policy more affordable, not less.

We have a way to re-engage voters lost towards the end of the last Government. And crucially, this avenue offers a way to turn out young voters, educated young professionals, and potentially to engage a whole new range of campaigners.

But the current lack of noise and initiative on this wide, pragmatic platform means that there are crucial campaigning tasks within our party. In their capacity as people with enthusiasm and time to dedicate, we believe younger members will be crucial in helping Labour to achieve this.

To give the party an assertive voice and build a greener left-of-centre agenda, we are appealing to people of all ages, but particularly young activists, to join SERA, the Labour environment campaign.

We want to hear from young people, so please leave us a comment. We need your ideas, your energy, and your engagement. The politics of sustainability are the politics of the future. What part will you play? Join us here.