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IT'S A GREY QUEEN'S SPEECH

24 Nov 1998

The Prime Minister manifesto promises to “put the environment at the heart of Government”and to be “the first truly green Government ever” were exposed today, as the Government failed to include a single key piece of environmental legislation in the Queen's Speech. (The Speech does contain one welcome technical measure on integrated pollution prevention and control: required by an EU Directive).

The Queen's Speech therefore represents a serious defeat for the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions, whose proposals on transport, climate change and other key green areas have faced resistance from No10, the DTi and the Treasury.

Key environmental pledges not included are:

1. Action on the Transport White Paper, including:
   • Powers for local councils to charge for road use in town centres
   • Powers to impose workplace parking charges
   • Incentives to invest in bus priority schemes
   No10 is believed to be worried that the White Paper may be seen as “anti-car”
2. A Wildlife Bill, to protect Britain's key wildlife sites - every year in England over 300 Sites of Special Scientific Interest are damaged by road-building, commercial and housing development, bad agricultural practice and erosion. Labour promised to protect SSSIs in its Election Manifesto, and a Green Paper has already been published, but there is no Bill
3. A new Food Standards Agency, promised in Labour's Election manifesto after the BSE crisis
4. Water Resources Bill, in Opposition Labour was heavily critical of the water companies for wasting water and for taking too much water from rivers and streams.A detailed review of abstraction licensing has now been completed, but there is no Bill to put it into effect
5. A Bill to set up a Comprehensive Pollution Inventory (promised by Environment Minister Michael Meacher).
   

In contrast in the last year campaigning by Friends of the Earth persuaded Parliament to pass five environmental laws (four of which were drafted by FOE), using private members' procedures [1].

Commenting, FOE Executive Director Charles Secrett said today:

“Promising to be green in Government is pointless if there is no performance. This Queen's Speech will disappoint everyone who cares about our environment and our quality of life. Mr Prescott's good intentions have been met by repeated obstruction from Mr Blair, Mr Brown and Mr Mandelson. We are left with clouds of worthy green rhetoric, but no action. It seems clear that the solemn Election pledge to put the environment at the heart of Government was only ever spin-deep.”

NOTES

1.The green measures successfully promoted by FOE in the last Parliamentary session were:

• the Road Traffic Reduction (National Targets) Act
•  the Waste Minimisation Act
•  the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act   
• VAT on energy saving materials
• Energy rating of new homes

Two further measures on energy efficiency and conservation in housing fell after the Government refused to give them additional Parliamentary time.

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