Ranking exposes "the good, the bad and the ugly, when it comes to the environmental pledges on offer.”
The Tory Party has had its green credentials ripped to shreds as experts ranked the political parties on their green plans.
Labour came out four times higher than the Conservatives, but the Green Party and Lib Dems easily topped the rankings having laid out ambitious plans in their election manifestos.
Analysis of parties’ 2024 manifestos carried out by Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace UK has offered a scoring based on 40 policy recommendations made by the organisations.
The Green Party got an impressive 39 out of a possible 40 points, coming out leaders for their green policy intentions. The Liberal Democrats took second place with 31.5 points, then Labour with what Friends of the Earth (FOE) called a “respectable but not exceptional” score of 20.5. However the Tories were trailing behind with a dismal 5 points.
Greenpeace UK’s head of politics, Rebecca Newsom, said the ranking exposed “the good, the bad and the ugly, when it comes to the environmental pledges on offer.”
Newsom said: “The manifestos of the two main parties provide a glimpse into the possible worlds that voters will choose to inherit next month.
“And, when it comes to climate leadership and supporting workers and communities to benefit from the green transition, there’s a clear and obvious choice.”
Labour has been called on to develop additional policies, draw on the policy ideas from the Greens and Lib Dems in order to ensure a fair and equitable green transition. The party should also introduce a robust strategy for funding vital measures for greener farming and housing, Mike Childs head of policy at FOE said.
“If growth is the party’s mantra, then it must seize the many opportunities that action on climate and nature present – such as lower bills, hundreds of thousands of new jobs in clean industries, a healthier, more prosperous economy and a safer future for us all,” said Childs.
The detailed scrutiny was broken down into four categories; climate and energy, homes and transport, nature and environment and justice and democracy. See the table below for how the parties ranked in each area, and their overall scoring.
| Scores out of 10 for the four categories | ||||
| Labour | Conservatives | Lib Dems | Green | |
| Climate and Energy | 6.5 | 1.5 | 6.5 | 10 |
| Nature and Environment | 5 | 1.5 | 7 | 9 |
| Homes and Transport | 4.5 | 1.5 | 8.5 | 10 |
| Justice & democracy | 4.5 | 0.5 | 9.5 | 10 |
| Total | 20.5 | 5 | 31.5 | 39 |
(Image credit: Keir Starmer Flickr)
Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward
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