Ealing FoE has written to all of the candidates in the 3 Ealing constituences to ask them about their environment policies. Many thanks to all those who replied. Some replied on behalf of their party who had put up candidates in other Ealing constituences. Some are independents speaking for themselves. Some didn’t bother to reply at all and so are missing from this article.
The question we asked is: Do the candidates’ environmental policies live up to the Friends of the Earth demands for the next government:
- Deliver an ambitious new climate action plan that delivers on our global pledge to help prevent catastrophic climate change.
- Fix the UK’s heat-leaking homes by investing £6 billion- a –year in a council-led, street-by-street home insulation programme to cut bills and emissions.
- End the sewage scandal and take action to clean up the water and air pollution that’s harming our health and threatening our waterways, wildlife and nature.
- Take action to ensure the UK plays its part in global efforts to tackle the climate and nature crises.
Green Party - EFoE assessment: 5 out of 5
Ealing Green Party (which includes all 3 Ealing constituences) are supporting their national organisation’s ambitious new climate action plan which encompasses all of the four Friends of the Earth demands of the next government.
Thank you for getting in touch, and for your patience while we waited for the Green Party’s manifesto to be launched.
We share your concerns about the environment globally, nationally, and locally here in Ealing.
Here are our responses to your four key demands for a new government:
- Deliver an ambitious new climate action plan that delivers on our global pledge to help prevent catastrophic climate change.
The Green Party manifesto makes our position very clear: ‘we can and must make the right political choices in order to transition at speed to a decarbonised economy’. Our manifesto also lays out that the solutions to addressing the climate crisis are the same as those needed to end the costs of living and inequality crises.
- Fix the UK’s heat-leaking homes by investing £6 billion- a –year in a council-led, street-by-street home insulation programme to cut bills and emissions.
We would provide fairer, greener homes by investing in energy efficiency. Elected Greens have made manifesto commitments to achieve this- you can see the full details and amounts proposed here.
- End the sewage scandal and take action to clean up the water and air pollution that’s harming our health and threatening our waterways, wildlife and nature.
We would push for a Clean Air Act, setting in law the right to breathe clean air. We are clear that the only way to end the dirty water scandal is to bring water companies back into public ownership.
- Take action to ensure the UK plays its part in global efforts to tackle the climate and nature crises.
Green Party MPs would ensure that the UK’s climate finance commitments are delivered in full, work to remove the burden of debt from the Global South, and push for a new international law against ecocide. More information can be found in our manifesto section on how we would work to build a fairer, greener, safer world.
I hope these answers have demonstrated to your supporters that all three of your Ealing Green candidates in this General Election support the Friends of the Earth demands and, if we are successfully elected in Ealing, we will work hard to achieve them.
Yours
Neil Reynolds, Natalia Kubica, Kate Crossland
Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Ealing Central and Acton, Green Party
Reform - EFoE assessment: ½ out of 5
Reform appear to have no understanding of the science behind climate change and its policies are not only wrong but potentially dangerous.
Steve Chilcott, Reform’s parliamentary candidate for Ealing Southall, replied to EFoE’s request for information about his environment policies by saying that climate change has happened before and that the only thing to do was to learn to live with it and forget about attempts to halt it.
He said: “Net zero means reducing man made CO2 emissions to stop climate change. It can’t. Climate change has happened for millions of years, before man made CO2 emissions, and will always change. We are better to adapt to warming, rather than pretend we can stop it.”
He is wrong. NASA and other scientists have shown that our planet’s average surface temperature has risen one degree Celsius since the late 19th century caused by increased carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere and other human activities. Most of this warming has happened in the past 40 years with the seven most recent years being the warmest.
The earth’s climate has changed throughout history but the current warming is happening at a rate not seen in the past 10,000 years. Previous changes have been incredibly slow, taking place over millennia.
The consequences of climate change include oceans getting warmer, glaciers retreating, snow cover decreasing, sea level rising and extreme events like high temperatures or low temperatures or increased rainfall happening more frequently.
The whole balance of nature where bird and fish migrations happen so that they can feed on certain insects or plants when they are abundant is being destroyed; plants and trees come into leaf and flower using triggers provided by the air temperature. Eventually climate change will mean it will become more difficult to grow the food we need to survive.
Steve Chilcott says: ” Net Zero is the wrong focus and at the wrong price, in the wrong timeframe. Westminster’s obsession with Net Zero is damaging our livelihoods and the economy. It has sent energy bills soaring, made it harder for businesses to compete and is costing tens of thousands of jobs and increasing inflation.”
But EFoE says that attempting to reach net zero is the only thing we can currently do to try to hold back climate change as there is no technological solution yet and won’t be for sometime, possibly ever. But doing nothing but trying “to adapt to warming” as Steve Chillcott says is defeatist and potentially dangerous as it will make the problem worse.
The destruction of our planet and our way of life is not inevitable. We can try to limit the amount of CO2 we put into the atmosphere by making use of less polluting fuels – and this transition involves a whole new industry of green energy which will provide thousands of jobs. Admittedly some things could have been done better so all the more reason to make sure it’s done properly.
Steve Chilcott is hoping to become the MP for Ealing Southall – an area with very close links to the Asian subcontinent where temperatures have been reaching an unprecedented 50 degrees Celsius. For the sake of his constituents and their wider families that is even more reason to campaign for reducing CO2 emissions to stop climate change.
Steve Chilcott also says there are “some significant pollution issues in Ealing Southall, both in our waterways and also clean air issues around some of the brownfield developments.” He supports ensuring Warren Farm is fully protected as a wild and natural space – both points EFoE agrees with.
At Reform we care about the environment and we want to use technology to do our bit. However, we believe Net Zero is the wrong focus and at the wrong price, in the wrong timeframe. Westminster’s obsession with Net Zero is damaging our livelihoods and the economy. It has sent energy bills soaring, made it harder for businesses to compete and is costing tens of thousands of jobs and increasing inflation.
Net zero means reducing man made CO2 emissions to stop climate change. It can’t. Climate change has happened for millions of years, before man made CO2 emissions, and will always change. We are better to adapt to warming, rather than pretend we can stop it. Up to 10 times more people die of cold than warmth. In Roman Britain some 2,000 years ago, it was 2 degrees warmer than now. Grapes for wine were grown in Yorkshire.
CO2 is essential for photosynthesis to enable plant growth. CO2 only represents 0.04% of the atmosphere; the average garden greenhouse has 3 times more! The UK produces only 1% of global CO2 emissions, yet China produces 27%. China and India are building hundreds of coal fired power stations. Even the IPCC admits Net Zero would make no difference to sea level rise for 200-1,000 years.
Instead, Net Zero sends our money abroad and damages critical industries like steel production. The current government has turned Britain from being an exporter of oil and gas into a net importer. They have bet our future on unreliable wind and solar power and destroyed our energy security. We need a common sense and practical energy strategy.
In terms of the local picture, we have some significant pollution issues in Ealing Southall, both in our waterways and also clean air issues around some of the brownfield developments such as the Green Quarter. I commit to seeking to address these issues, as a clean environment is essential for all of us who live in the constituency. I also commit to holding Labour Council to account in ensuring Warren Farm is fully protected as a wild and natural space.
Hope this helps.
Best regards
Steve Chilcott
Reform Parliamentary candidate for Ealing Southall
Liberal Democrats - EFoE assessment: 4½ out of 5
The Libdems are very busy. This was the reply from their candidate in Ealing North Craig O’Donnell. We’ve copied over their national environment policy which is excellent but they lose half a point because they don’t seem to have thought how they can help the particular constituencies they want to represent.
Thank you for your message.
Currently we are receiving a very high volume of messages so we will do our best to respond but sadly cannot promise to come back on every email received before 4th July.
To gain an instant idea of the Liberal Democrats policies for a Fair Deal please see our manifesto which can be accessed via the following link
https://www.libdems.org.uk/manifesto
Thank you for your ongoing interest in our programme.
Make homes warmer and cheaper to heat with a ten-year emergency upgrade programme, starting with free insulation and heat pumps for those on low incomes, and ensure that all new homes are zero-carbon.
Drive a rooftop solar revolution by expanding incentives for households to install solar panels, including a guaranteed fair price for electricity sold back into the grid.
Invest in renewable power so that 90% of the UK’s electricity is generated from renewables by 2030.
Appoint a Chief Secretary for Sustainability in the Treasury to ensure that the economy is sustainable, resource-efficient and zero-carbon, establish a new Net Zero Delivery Authority to coordinate action across government departments and work with devolved administrations, and hand more powers and resources to local councils for local net zero strategies.
Establish national and local citizens’ assemblies to give people real involvement in the decisions needed to tackle climate change.
Restore the UK’s role as a global leader on climate change, by returning international development spending to 0.7% of national income, with tackling climate change a key priority for development spending.
Workers Party of Britain - EFoE assessment: 4 out of 5
Ealing North candidate for the Workers Party of Britain, Sameh Habeeb, said that he was happy to adopt the Friends of the Earth demands.
But despite his personal support for the demands, the national Workers Party calls for a referendum on the timing of net zero “to create a debate on who profits from these targets and on what terms”. The Workers Party doesn’t support ULEZ either because of the costs on working households and small businesses.
I’m happy to adopt those demands. It’s very important to act on rising climate risks. Sadly, the Tory government proved to be useless on major climate polices. I don’t trust Labour either given the U turn made by Starmer on annual spent on green polices.
Please add my endorsement and I will also publicise it today.
Best
Sam
Independent candidate for Ealing North Helmi Alharahsheh – EfoE assessment: 3 out of 5
Helmi Alharahsheh addresses a number of environmental issues in his manifesto. But he is against ULEZ and provides no other policies for reducing CO2 emissions other than a vague promise to “support efforts to implement green policies that address climate change.”
Hi. Thanks for the email. I fully support you on the matters you have raised. These are very important matters that people in Ealing North care about, and confirm that I pledge to support you once elected the MP for Ealing North for the below:
- Deliver an ambitious new climate action plan that delivers on our global pledge to help prevent catastrophic climate change.
- Fix the UK’s heat-leaking homes by investing £6 billion- a –year in a council-led, street-by-street home insulation programme to cut bills and emissions.
- End the sewage scandal and take action to clean up the water and air pollution that’s harming our health and threatening our waterways, wildlife and nature.
- Take action to ensure the UK plays its part in global efforts to tackle the climate and nature crises.
Happy to always have your views and suggestions. Please do not hesitate to contact me directly via my email.
Best regards,
Helmi Alharahsheh – Independent Parliamentary candidate for Ealing North
Helmi Alharahsheh’s Manifesto
Advocate for improving air quality in Ealing North, such as implementing low-emission zones, promoting electric vehicle usage, and investing in green infrastructure.
Push and support any efforts in Westminster to stop or redefine the money-collection ULEZ scheme proposed by the Labour Mayor, as it became a fight against car owners rather than having it positively reduce emissions.
Support initiatives to protect and preserve green spaces in Ealing North, including the creation of new parks and the enhancement of existing green areas.
Promote sustainable waste management practices, including recycling programs and initiatives to reduce single-use plastics and other pollutants. The Labour-run council systematically aimed to reduce funding for key recycling facilities, and this can not continue.
Support efforts to implement green policies that address climate change and protect the environment, such as investing in renewable energy sources, promoting energy efficiency, and preserving natural habitats.
Independent candidate for Ealing Southall Pedro Da Conceicao – EfoE assessment: 1 out of 5
Pedro Da Conceicao is right about the need to properly insulate Britain’s housing stock but that isn’t a properly thought out policy on the environment for a general election. He doesn’t mention the environment anywhere in his manifesto.
Thank you for your email and sorry for the long response I believe your email must have got lost. A lot of the issues you’re talking about resonate with me even in a personal level. The apartments that I live in (St Bernards, near Ealing Hospital) have very old windows that cannot be changed due to some sort of regulation which stands to preserve the history of the building. These windows however do not seal properly and make the apartments extremely cold and lead residents to use heating unnecessarily, I have been battling this with the relevant authorities but I can’t imagine how many properties in Ealing suffer from the same thing.
This is not only a waste financially for residents but also has a detrimental impact on the environment as an absolute waste of energy. As a young person I am dedicated to preserving our environment as much as possible as this planet is our future and I have seen many politicians and corporations use and abuse it for personal gain. I am committed to lowering pollution by introducing a more rigorous tradeable pollution permit system and supporting community initiatives that encourage climate change education to make people more mindful about the impact of wasting energy and resources on our planet.
I would love to discuss your concerns further and incorporate more of your ideas into my policies. I look forward to hearing more from your organisation.
Thank you very much.
Pedro Da Conceicao
PPC for Ealing Southall
Social Democratic Party – EFoE assessment: 3 out of 5.
Stephen Balogh, SDP candidate for Ealing North, finally came back to quoting at length from the SDP manifesto. SDP don’t agree with attempts to reach net zero.
I apologise for taking slightly longer than planned to reply to your email. Referencing the SDP’s manifesto available at https://sdp.org.uk/ by means of sections and page numbers (the actual pages and not the PDF page number), I offer my responses below.
With my best wishes,
Stephen Balogh
SDP Parliamentary Candidate, Ealing Central & Acton
- Deliver an ambitious new climate action plan that delivers on our global pledge to help prevent catastrophic climate change.
(Energy & Utilities, p. 12) We accept the broad scientific consensus that fossil fuels are contributing to climate change and that we need to reduce our aggregate usage of them; however, we do not support unrealistic objectives such as “Net Zero” which lead to an unbalanced and costly energy regime in the UK without materially impacting global warming.
Research into battery technology, hydrogen, nuclear energy, tidal, and low-energy transport will be supported by £4 billion of additional funding.
An energy security programme will be developed to ensure that the UK has energy resources in place to guarantee 12 months’ reserve supply. This will include the use of all domestic energy resources, from renewables through to traditional sources.
The contribution of nuclear energy to Britain’s electricity mix will be increased from 12% to 40% by 2035. We will renew our existing nuclear plants and develop new large-scale Generation IV reactors and small modular reactors. Planning rules for the approval of new nuclear facilities will be streamlined.
- Fix the UK’s heat-leaking homes by investing £6 billion- a –year in a council-led, street-by-street home insulation programme to cut bills and emissions.
(Environment, p. 29) We shall mandate energy efficiency into the planning and building regulations system. Subsidies will be available for solar panel installations on existing commercial and residential buildings. Planning consent will not be granted for solar farms on agricultural land.
(Energy & Utilities, p. 12) Expenditure on heat pumps, insulation, household solar panel systems and double/triple glazing by registered suppliers will be tax deductible at the basic rate.
- End the sewage scandal and take action to clean up the water and air pollution that’s harming our health and threatening our waterways, wildlife and nature.
(Energy & Utilities, p. 12) Water supply and management is a natural monopoly and it should be returned to public ownership. This will be financed via a British Sovereign Wealth Fund and new bond issuance. We will set capital investment targets to reduce and prevent future discharges. Consumer charges/incentives for conservation and dividends to shareholders in private water companies (where applicable) will be aligned with this goal.
(Environment, p. 29) We will clean up our rivers by setting capital investment targets to prevent sewage discharges, by supporting farmers to reduce livestock density in sensitive catchments, and by robust enforcement of all water pollution regulations.
- Take action to ensure the UK plays its part in global efforts to tackle the climate and nature crises.
See response to (1) in relation to climate. Re nature, and focussing on the UK:
(Environment, p. 29) The British countryside and coastal waters are part of our cultural heritage and identity. Wildlife habitats and the public realm in villages, towns and cities enrich the lives of our fellow citizens and they should be cherished. However, population growth, indifference and poor planning threaten our natural landscapes. Some institutions charged with protecting our wildlife and historic sites have abandoned their core purpose in favour of fashionable ideologies. Abstract international targets set by supranational organisations distract us from achieving meaningful local improvements. We need to protect our natural and historic environment from further loss and embark on a long period of restoration.
A national land-use plan will be produced to optimise use of our limited space and ensure that the interests of nature conservation, food security, energy security, housing, infrastructure and landscape quality are balanced.
(Food, Farming & Countryside, p. 27) We will invest in agricultural technology and farmer-led research and innovation to make high-yield farming less environmentally damaging and small-scale farming more efficient.
(Fisheries, p. 28) Quotas will be set using scientific evidence to avoid overexploitation while minimising discards in mixed fisheries. Social, economic and environmental criteria will be considered in quota allocation. The environmental impact of aquaculture will be reduced via new research and regulation, more sustainable feed sources, restrictions on antibiotic use, lower stocking densities, use of multi-trophic systems and co-location with wind farms.
The fishing industry and their wider communities will have a stronger voice in the establishment and monitoring of Marine Protected Areas. Commercial fishing will be given equal weight with other sea uses in marine spatial planning.
Independent candidate for Ealing North Julie Carter – No EfoE assessment as, so far, she hasn't come back to us.
Very difficult to find out Julie Carter’s environment policies. The only thing we know is from whocanIvotefor.co.uk where she says she “would also like to scrap the dangerous bike lanes and remove the 20 mile an hour speed limit on dual carriageways.”
Dear Ealing Friends of the Earth,
Thankyou for your email.
I will review and respond shortly.
Best,
Julie Carter
Independent