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ELECTION AND THE ENVIRONMENT

09 May 2001

Friends of the Earth today challenged Tony Blair to live up to his previous rhetoric and put the environment at the heart of the election campaign. The call came after the Prime Minster launched his election campaign yesterday with a speech that failed to make a single reference to environmental challenges facing the country.

This failure to even mention a single green policy comes despite two recent high-profile speeches on the environment. In October, Tony Blair told an audience of environmentalists and businessmen"It is time to reawaken the environmental challenge as part of the core of British politics ... I want to push green issues back up the political agenda." [1]. In a second speech on green issues in March,he said "I want these issues to occupy a central part of the British Government agenda in the coming years ... there is now an intense sense of urgency about it"

[2].Charles Secrett, Executive Director of Friends of the Earth said"Millions of people now put environmental issues among their top concerns. If Mr Blair wants to convince them he meant what he said in his recent green speeches, he has to live up to the rhetoric and tackle the environmental challenge facing us. It is no good to offer warm words to green audiences and then forget all about them once the election campaign begins.

“If Mr Blair does live up to his earlier speeches he can open up "clear green water" between Labour and the Conservatives. William Hague has hardly mentioned the environment at all in the long run-up to this campaign. He has blown the chance to highlight unpopular Labour policies on incinerators,GM food, the growing gridlock on our roads and the crisis on our railways."

FOE is challenging all politicians standing in the election to adopt 5 key green targets. These cover waste, transport, food, climate change and greening business.
See www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/general_election/

Notes for Editors[1] "Richer and Greener" - speech to CBI/Green Alliance conference on the environment, 24 October 2000

[2] "Environment - the next steps" - speech, 6 March 2001

[3] Friends of the Earth has a complete briefing on the Election and the environment, available from FOE Press Office

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