The colour is green
Yesterday an extraordinarily successful conference on green growth took place in London opened by George Osborne and at which David Cameron spoke. It is he in particular who has driven on the green debate in political circles.
The line up of speakers was impressive – Sir Terry Leahy of Tesco,, Stanley Fink of Man Group, Eddie O’ Connor of Airtricity and James Murdoch of BSkyB. All in their different ways are promoting a green agenda in their businesses, and responding to market forces. We now need to look at problem areas like regulation, taxation, planning and requisite skills – how government nationally and locally interact, and then in turn do so with business.
Canvassing at the weekend revealed how really dismissive Labour supporters are of this Government. It may be that it is Governments that lose elections, but an Opposition can make it easier. By capturing the green initiative David Cameron has not only changed the profile of the Conservative Party, but actively raised public awareness of one of the great challenges of our times.