Green Party speech tells Lib Dems ‘do as you say’

Sep 14 2007 by David Bartlett, Liverpool Daily Post

THE Green Party yesterday used the first day of their national conference in Liverpool to call on the Liberal Democrats to end the “disparity” between what they say at a UK-wide policy level, and do locally.

City councillor John Coyne gave the opening speech at the party’s four-day conference at Hope University’s Everton campus.

He presented a motion calling on the party to monitor the “increasing disparity between Lib-Dem rhetoric at a national level and the party’s actions at a local level with regard to the environment, especially with regard to Liverpool.”

But last night council leader Warren Bradley and senior executive member Flo Clucas defended the Liberal Democrats’ record, and accused Cllr Coyne of playing politics. Cllr Coyne told the conference he believed the Lib-Dems were “back-tracking” on environmental issues in the city.

In 2004, the council supported a motion not too rely on the expansion of John Lennon Airport, he said, but rejected a similar call this year.

He also said that giving councillors a mileage allowance of 40p was over-generous, and offered a perverse incentive to leave the car at home.

He also called for councillors’ free parking spaces to scrapped.

Cllr Coyne quit the Lib-Dems in 2006 because of what he saw as the party’s “over-oppressive” stance on buying up and knocking down terraced houses.

“We are saying ‘look at your national policies and look at what you do once in power, and by the time your conference comes to Liverpool in six months and let’s see if you can make some progress’.”

He said he would be happy if the Green Party could play a role in influencing the environmental policies of other parties.

Cllr Clucas, the Liverpool Lib- Dems’ executive member for economic regeneration, said that for every 1m passengers that passed through JLA in a year, 1,000 jobs were created.

“I welcome the fact that 5,000 jobs have come off the back of the airport.”

She said that JLA had a smaller environmental impact than other airports, and it was better that people could fly from Merseyside rather than having to travel overland to other areas to catch flights.

“We have to drive forward the business economy, I’m confident that is good in the long run.”

She said better jobs meant that people were able to invest in their own homes, therefore reducing their environmental impact.

Cllr Clucas said councillors’ mileage allowances in Liverpool were much lower than other areas. Cllr Bradley said: “The streets of Liverpool are cleaner than they have ever been, that’s not us saying that but Encams [the environmental charity].

“As a party, we are absolutely committed to the environment, both nationally and locally.”

He said the party had increased recycling in the city from virtually nothing five years ago to around 20% currently.

davidbartlett