Interesting meeting with Gordon earlier today about Copenhagen, which I can't really blog about, but lots of issues discussed with me and some other MPs.
As he announced today during his statement in the Commons on the EU Council and Afghanistan, he's going out to Copenhagen tomorrow (Tuesday) rather than Thursday as originally planned. The political hacks responsible for the linked Times article are obviously suffering from over-exposure to Cameron and the Tory spin machine, e.g. saying Gordon is "keen to be seen"and "keen to give the impression". No, he's genuinely absolutely passionate about the need to get a deal on the table, and it was obvious from today's meeting that he's dying to get stuck into negotiations. It's what he does best, as he's already demonstrated on overseas aid and global financial stability, and may well go on to do over the Tobin tax, an idea whose time may well have come.
Meanwhile I'm searching in vain for evidence of Cameron saying anything meaningful about what he would like to see us achieve in Copenhagen. Do you not think that the Cameron of a few years ago would have been on the first train out there, posing for the cameras as he set off in his Boden catalogue smart-casual clothes? So why has gone all quiet on us?
Well have a look at the comments on here, on Conservative Home. The fact is, whether or not Cameron's own commitment to the green agenda is genuine - and I'm prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt on that, despite the fact he once described wind turbines as 'bird blenders' - he has comprehensively failed to take his party with him. A Cameron-led Government with a small to modest size majority would be completely incapable of moving the climate change agenda forward; there would be mutiny in the Tory ranks. He'd basically have to rely on Labour and Lib Dem votes but given how weak this would make him look, and the schisms it would cause within his party, the most likely option is that he will do nothing at all.
3 comments:
Perhaps Mr Cameron is reading some e-mails. Taking time to reflect on the issues.
Of course you have had a link to the info since the start (crugate aka climategate) and given the info they contain, they would give anyone pause for thought.
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If Gordon is so keen for action on climate change how come he's not managed to cut the UK's carbon dioxide emissions? They've risen rather than fallen in the last 12 yrs by a few percentage points!! Near bottom of the EU renewbale energy league is not too hot now is it!!
And Glenn,
If Gordon is so keen to reduce our emissions of deadly (not) CO2, then why did he try to persuade us all to run up even more debts to buy things we don't need in order to save his hide by improving the economy?
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