Whoever had fabricated "Dave" Cameron faces tough question: how long before Cameron’s unravelling is done?

0420 GMT

Sunday 

13 May 2012

Whoever had fabricated "Dave" Cameron faces tough question: how long before Cameron’s  unravelling is done?

[To be continued]

Take from 

The Independent on Sunday web site:

Whatever happened to Cameron, the idealistic young eco-warrior?

After spending five years in opposition trying to detoxify the Tories' image, David Cameron promised to lead 'the greenest government ever' when he entered No 10, exactly two years ago. Matt Chorley investigates what became of that pledge

MATT CHORLEY

SUNDAY 13 MAY 2012

i

David Cameron is today accused of doing no more than pay lip service to his boast that he would lead the "greenest government ever" and of leaving Britain vulnerable to the economic and environmental dangers of failing to tackle climate change.

On the second anniversary of his speech setting out his "simple ambition" for the coalition, the Prime Minister comes under fire from business leaders, eco-campaigners and politicians who warn that ministers' anti-green rhetoric, policy U-turns and turbulent backbenchers are thwarting efforts to foster a low-carbon economy.

Samantha Smith, the environmentalist who took Mr Cameron to hug huskies in the Arctic to show a new Tory enthusiasm for the green agenda, leads the criticism. She claims the PM's reluctance to lead the way threatens investment in renewable energy and undermines attempts to persuade developing countries to go green.

She told The Independent on Sunday: "This where we see whether David Cameron is a global leader or not. It is about being out in front, showing leadership and direction. We are not seeing enough of that."

Her comments have been echoed by a diverse coalition, ranging from the CBI and renewable-energy firms to Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and even Tory MPs.

From botched cuts to solar subsidies to the aborted forests sell-off, from a new rush for gas to subsidies for nuclear power, there is plenty in the coalition's record that has raised doubts about the competency and commitment of ministers to the cause.

Repeated attacks by George Osborne on low-carbon policies – claiming "we're not going to save the planet by putting our country out of business" – have been highlighted as a major cause of concern, with the Chancellor suggesting there is a choice between growth and being green.

The need for action remains acute. Last month, the International Energy Agency warned that energy-related CO2 emissions are on course to almost double by 2050, pushing global temperatures up by at least 6C. "Such an outcome would confront future generations with significant economic, environmental and energy security hardships," said its deputy executive director, Richard H Jones.

Last Wednesday's Queen's Speech was seen by some as a turning point for the coalition. The Energy Bill will aim to provide long-term certainty for investors in low-carbon power, by guaranteeing a steady rate of return. But critics warn it amounts to a subsidy for nuclear plants, something Lib Dems are vehemently opposed to. The heads of four of the country's biggest environmental organisations – Greenpeace, WWF, RSPB and Friends of the Earth – have written to the Government warning against an "over-reliance on gas", which could account for 70 per cent of generating capacity by 2020. The letter, seen by The IoS, calls for more support for renewable energy to "provide investors with long-term certainty".

Ultra-green members of the Government would like more "aggressive" policies, including council tax and business rate discounts for properties that are more energy-efficient. But these are unlikely to get past sceptics who would see it as another "green tax".

Earlier this month, Mr Cameron made his first public comment on the green agenda since becoming Prime Minister, though confusion over whether it was a "keynote speech" or simply "opening remarks" at a meeting of international energy ministers added to the sense that this is not a policy priority. A YouGov poll in March revealed that just 2 per cent of people thought he had kept his promise to lead the greenest government ever.

It is all a long way from the day in April 2006, when Mr Cameron burnished his green credentials by posing with huskies in Svalbard, declaring: "It is possible to take a lead and make a difference."

Six years on, it is the absence of leadership that most worries environmentalists. Ms Smith, now leader of WWF's global climate and energy initiative, revealed she was "impressed" by the Tory leader on the infamous dog-sled trip, but today is fearful of a lack of conviction. "We understood that part of it was about promoting the new greening of the Tory party, but it also seemed to us to be genuine, beyond some false commitment and a nod to climate change." She warns that Mr Cameron must stand up to the "huge pushback" claims from climate-sceptic Tory MPs and Mr Osborne, who express doubts "on whether the UK can 'afford' to fulfil its obligations".

There is a stark difference between being the "greenest ever" and the "greenest possible" government. Without a pro-green zeal at the very top of government, ambitious plans are unlikely to reach their potential. "It's the difference between a policy that trundles along and one which is given some welly," says one government source.

Like many, Tim Yeo, the Tory chairman of the Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee, warns that the Department of Energy and Climate Change looks like "a second-division Whitehall department" when up against the Treasury, which is institutionally suspicious of green policies. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs fares little better. Responsible for the countryside – and the infamous plan to sell off Britain's forests – it is damned with faint praise even by its backers. "Defra's heart is in the right place," says one. "It just needs a bit more clout." The Campaign to Protect Rural England fears Defra is "an isolated, and not especially influential, outpost".

The loss of Chris Huhne, who resigned as Energy Secretary in February after being charged with perverting the course of justice, is a mixed blessing. A Lib Dem big beast, he regularly stood up to Tories in general and Mr Osborne in particular. But there is a growing school of thought in Westminster, too, that Mr Huhne's spiky relationship with the Chancellor was counterproductive. Friends of Mr Osborne say his anti-green rhetoric while Mr Huhne was in the Cabinet was in part a way of putting up "two fingers" to the Lib Dems. Since the latter's departure, his language has been tempered. "George has drawn a line under the antagonistic stuff now Chris has gone," says one Tory minister. "Politics is based on people and relationships – shock!" adds another.

Observers say the jury is still out on Mr Huhne's successor, Ed Davey. In his first interview after his appointment in March, Mr Davey told The IoS: "Let no one be under any illusion, I am completely committed to the ambition for this to be the greenest government ever."

He might be committed. But there are real doubts about whether David Cameron's priorities now lie far away from the glaciers of Svalbard.

Cameron's Green ratings (are all over the place)

Leadership

David Cameron's "greenest government ever" boast on 14 May 2010 was followed by almost two years of silence. George Osborne filled the void, claiming green regulations imposed a "ridiculous cost" on business. The loss of Chris Huhne as Energy Secretary leaves both the Lib Dems and the green lobby one big beast down. But William Hague boasts that the Foreign Office is "leading this charge with vigour" and Nick Clegg is to lead the UK delegation to the Rio Earth Summit.

Verdict Sometimes words speak louder than actions.

Economy

The low-carbon economy, employing one million people, has been growing by 4 per cent a year, despite the recession. The UK is ranked seventh in the world for investment in clean energy, which was $9.4bn in 2011 – up 35 per cent, from $7bn, on 2010. Business leaders dispute claims about the green "burden", but want consistency to reassure investors. The £3bn Green Investment Bank, to fund low-carbon energy schemes, will start lending this year, though critics note it won't be able to borrow until 2016 at the earliest.

Verdict Treasury blind to potential green shoots of growth.

Solar

Panicked by the high uptake of generous subsidies for people installing solar panels, the Government rushed to cut the payouts by half. The High Court blocked the move, which had triggered claims that manufacturers and installers would go bust, and set alarm bells ringing about ministers' commitment and competence.

Verdict Cock-up, not conspiracy, but investors spooked.

Wind

More than 100 Tory MPs demanded cuts to subsidies for "inefficient and intermittent" onshore wind farms, but the PM responded there were "perfectly hard-headed reasons" to build more. There are plans for big expansion by 2020, pushing onshore turbine output up from 4.7GW to 13GW and offshore from 1.6GW to 18GW.

Verdict "Bird shredders" or things of beauty, they are vital to green energy future.

Marine and tidal

Verdict Ambitious targets require ambitious politicians.

Countryside

A plan to sell off half the Forestry Commission's woodland was ditched after a campaign attracted 500,000 signatures. A planning shake-up sparked fears the countryside would be concreted over before a partial climbdown. An injection of £250m to reinstate weekly bin collections contradicts the recycling message. But a Defra review of habitat directives showed just 0.5 per cent caused major problems. There are plans to plant one million trees by 2015.

Verdict The rural champion risks trampling on its grassroots.

Oil and gas

A £3bn tax break in March to help oil firms to drill new deep wells off the north of Scotland dismayed campaigners, coming 12 months after a £2bn increase in tax on oil production. The requirement for power stations to be more efficient and less polluting is to be scrapped. Critics warn it will lead to a new dash for gas. Fracking – pumping water into shale rock to release gas – remains controversial, including fears it causes tremors.

Verdict

 No sign of ending our addiction to the black stuff.

Airports

The PM promised to scrap plans for a third runway at Heathrow, but the Chancellor is pushing for a U-turn, telling MPs the country must "confront airport capacity in the South-east".

Verdict

 A U-turn after the 2015 election would retoxify the Tories.

The experts' view

"Treasury noises-off are not helpful. A lot of this is work in progress but more signs are encouraging than discouraging."

Tim Yeo, MP; Tory chairman, Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee

"The Government's record is good in parts. They say the proof is in the pudding, well the pudding is still in the oven."

Gordon Edge; Policy director, RenewableUK

"It's more subtle than saying it's all been terrible – but it's more tragic, as well, because they have the bits of the jigsaw."

Caroline Lucas, MP; Leader, Green Party

"The economic climate has made politicians less receptive to the green agenda, but the 'environment vs growth' argument is self-defeating. This Government can still be the greenest ever, but it needs to raise its game."

Ben Stafford; Head of campaigns, Campaign to Protect Rural England

"The real issue is whether the 'greenest governmen

t ever' was a genuine aim, a sop to the Lib Dems, or a PR slogan."

Joan Walley, MP; Labour chairwoman, Commons Environmental Audit Committee

"The Government has caved into fossil-fuel lobbyists and green-lighted a risky increase in our dependence upon imported, polluting gas."

Joss Garman; Senior campaigner, Greenpeace

"The chopping and changing of green policies has been damaging to business confidence. The Government must ensure it has a clear message."

Rhian Kelly; Director for business environment, CBI

"We need to ensure more advanced engineering and manufacturing to create the solutions that will be essential to meeting our climate-change goals."

Greg Barker, MP; Climate Change minister

"David Cameron's pledge to vote blue and go green was nothing more than a con, designed to trick people into thinking the Tories had changed."

Caroline Flint, MP; Labour climate change spokeswoman

"The 'greenest government ever' aspiration was hardly setting the bar high, so it's a let-down to see the Government struggle to rise to that standard."

David Nussbaum; Chief executive, WWF-UK

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• fathersuperior

• "Whatever happened to Cameron, the idealistic young eco-warrior?"

• Nothing happened to him.  He never was the idealistic young eco-warrior.  He was, he remains, just a PR man on the make.   

• And some of us knew this from the start.  I did.

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• Citizen Bidet, My political views are, to a large degree, driven my hatred of Margaret Thatcher and that colonial filth Rupert Murdoch; and I will use whatever opportunity I can to display my my hatred and contempt for both. I believe that history will be a harsh judge of the Thatcher years. They will be seen as a time when Britain turned against itself in a war between the industrial working class and the middle classes of the Tory heartland. Although won by the latter, it will, I believe, prove to be the Phyrric victory that hastened the long, slow suicide of a once great nation. But it was also a war between nations: Thatcher's barely concealed contempt for Scotland and the Scottish people served only to strengthen the Scottish nationalists and so undermine two hundred years of the strength of our union. Her economic policies likewise hit hardest in the industrial North of England and served only to strengthen the North/South divide, hence adding to the Balkanisation of this small island. Her greatest crime, however, remains the willful destruction of British manufacturing - purely to teach its industrial workers a lesson. By keeping the value of the pound artificially high during a period of recession (a classic example of government interference in her own beloved free market) the government of this ghastly woman delivered a body-blow to British manufacturing from which it never recovered. And not a squeak was heard from those idiots over at the Adam Smith Institute, who, if they had read and understood the great economist's "Wealth of Nations" properly, would have pointed out his basic thesis that it is manufacturing which makes a nation wealthy and powerful. It will prove to be an expensive lesson and further illustration of the folly of a British class system every bit as noxious as Hindu caste. With the death of manufacturing comes the death of the nation: slowly at first, then increasing in pace as the realisation hits that North Sea energy is running out and that the casino economy, which does not produce anything of material usefulness but merely relies on paper speculation, cannot possibly keep paying for all the imports necessary to keep the economy viable. The factories and mines are all closed now and the financial services economy that should be servicing them has detached itself under the illusion that it can operate as a separate economic entity in itself; fine perhaps, until the Indias and Chinas of this world develop their own - which won't be long coming. The former working classes, meanwhile, with no real jobs, turn to either the dole or petty crime. None of this, of course, could have been foisted upon the British public without the social poison administered by that stinking maggot Rupert Murdoch. Ably assisted by such spiteful demagogues as Kelvin Mackenzie and Richard Littlejohn, using petty envy and Samantha Fox and Linda Lusardi's tits, his media empire turned greed, selfishness and ignorance into virtues, undermined our social cohesion, and instilled the "fuck you Jack I'm alright" mentality that allowed this monstrous folly to take place. RIP Britain: a once great industrial power killed by its own petty class resentments. With some inspired leadership that united rather than divided, and some foresight and investment, it could have been so different.

• Labour, Tory, who cares; who listens anymore; who pays any attention to anything they say--ever? They'll say anything to get elected and then junk it without a second thought. That's the level to which UK politics has descended.

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• Mack

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• Politicising issues as such won’t

be helpful.

• This issue is more likely a

matter of concern to environmentalist and industrialists.

• What the government could do

is very limited, for instance introducing new green-taxes which indeed would be

counterproductive and unpopular.

• Although, whether environmentalist

and industrialists gather together and reach some workable and realistic

measures, and only then we would achieve something truly practical.

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• courtatit

• You have to ask instead: 

• whatever happened to journalism? 

• Why is it that so much of the "media" is full of plugs, promotions? 

• Where is the investigative heart of good od ethical journalism? 

• Whatever happened to the code of conduct? 

• Can those be found in the conduct of the vast majority of those who stole so much of other peoples’ private info and data? Who can be held responsible for the “Whitehall” and  the [Parliamentary]  “Lobby” names attached to Fleet Street and the broadcasting counterparts behaving as no more than extensions of the Executive and their various propaganda outfits? 

• When was the last time that the “NUJ” even went on serious record about organising any industrial action against the untruths that the main media conglomerates in the UK promote, peddle and perpetuate as “news” 247?

• 0205 Sunday 13 May 2012.

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