Cameron and the Greens converge

Liberal Democrats seem to be struggling on how to deal with the new green Tories under Cameron. Should we dismiss them as not really being serious about the environment and what Cameron is saying is just spin and he will never develop real green policies? Or, should the conversion to environmentalism be welcomed with us arguing though that we got there first? Or the other option of saying that they are being green but it doesn’t go far enough?

It is a difficult one, and certainly Cameron’s recent announcements appear to be very bold and very different. But where I have a problem is that they are completely unrealistic.

Rationing people to one ‘cheap’ flight a year may sound good, but how on earth are you going to police it and what size of bureaucracy do you need to achieve it? Plus, how will he deal with airlines using overseas fuel instead of British fuel to get round the fact that ours will be more heavily taxed.

It was reassuring listening to Chris Huhne on television this lunchtime. Not only was he clear on where the Liberal Democrat view was better than Labour or the Tories, but he reminded people how distinct the Lib Dem view is and why it would work. He didn’t need to say “we are greener than you”, which is becoming an increasingly repetitive argument, but simply stated why the Lib Dem policy would work.

On the environment I am happy to compare the Tories to the Green Party. That may sound like a compliment in terms of their environmental policies, but it isn’t. What I mean is that what they say may sound good, but it will never happen as it just doesn’t take in to account reality. The difference is that the Greens go even further and are even more restrictive.

I was interested in environmental issues long before David Cameron was, and so of course I want to reduce carbon emissions. But just talking about flights is I believe is a red herring. There are many other ways of reducing our carbon footprint. But even when it comes to air travel, the discussion should be much more about cutting internal flights and road use in the UK. These two link together. If we put money in to high capacity, fast rail lines criss-crossing the UK, like the French TGV, we would not only end up putting out of business the vast majority of internal flights, but would also reduce long-distance car use as well. Rail travel in this way is credible and would work, and would be the biggest carrot that anyone could possible want, without the need for a huge stick.