The last few months has seen a Conservative MP running the party's by-election bid in Corby secretly filmed apparently supporting the campaign of a rival candidate because he opposed wind farms. At the same time one department within Government is pushing a renewable strategy as another is seemingly pursuing a dash for gas. With Labour yet to build a coherent strategy supporting a transition to a sustainable economy you would be forgiven for thinking that the two parties have a schizophrenic approach to the environment. But there are both historical and ideological reasons why this may be the case. In this discussion paper Rachel Godfrey examines the ideology and development of the Conservative and Labour Parties and questions why neither party has provided coherent and sustained support for environmental policies.
Download the paper (pdf).