Time to put green policy high on agenda

Andrew and the panel at the open meeting

 

In one of his last acts as Member of Parliament before becoming the Liberal Democrat candidate for the constituency he has represented since 1997, Andrew George held a large open meeting in the lecture theatre at Penwith College with environmental experts to “work for a greener government policy”.

Mr George was joined by Baroness Kate Parminter – former Chief Executive of the CPRE, RSPCA and Campaign for the Hunted Animal; Professor Rosie Woodroffe – Senior Fellow at the Zoological Society of London, co-partner with Andrew George of the Penwith Badger vaccination project (the first community led such project in the country); and Dr Nick Tregenza – an international marine biologist and cetacean expert based in West Cornwall.

Following opening addresses, the audience of over one hundred people raised questions on nuclear power and nuclear weapons, pollinator strategy, marine conservation, renewable energy, the impact and opportunities of an offshore breakwater at Penzance, best methods of combating bovine tuberculosis, the impact of the party whipping system, combatting the impact of plastic waste, the impact of the growth agenda, the role of the planning system, farming practices and the regulation of fracking.

Those who attended the meeting were disappointed at the Conservative Prime Minister’s dismissal of green policy as “green c**p”!

The meeting which was also attended by representatives from the St Ives Neighbourhood Plan, local Friends of the Earth, Civic Society, universities in Cornwall and many others, heard that, as local MP, Andrew George had led campaigns on climate change, worked with Green MP Caroline Lucas to advance the case for green policy in farming, pollinator strategies, public transport and in other areas.

Mr George said, “Although Liberal Democrats in Government have made important progress on a number of fronts, not least in combatting climate change and advancing the growth of renewables and the green economy, there is still much more to do.

“I hope that the next Coalition Government will agree to establish a proper ‘Green’ Minister working at a Cabinet level across all Government departments and to challenge and improve all aspects of Government policy.”