Labour wins general election in historic landslide

Following the news that the UK will have a Labour government for the first time since 2010, Mike Childs, head of policy at Friends of the Earth, said: 

“Having secured a historic landslide election victory, let's hope Labour’s win signals the end of a disastrous fourteen years of dither, delay and retreat that defined the Conservative brand of environmentalism. 

"Labour's plans for climate and nature are far stronger than its predecessor's, including a commitment to meet the international goal to cut emissions by two-thirds by 2030, but need to go further still if we're to get the country back on course for meeting crucial targets. 

"Critically, the party must ensure it doesn’t rest on its laurels and remember that it has been elected on a ticket promising change. With such a large mandate, it should feel emboldened to bring in truly progressive policies. 

“It should start by lifting the ban on onshore wind, reversing new licences for North Sea oil and gas, withdrawing support for the new coal mine in Cumbria, and bringing in new rules to ensure water companies – not their customers – pay for the clean-up of our filthy rivers and seas. 

“Given how rapidly the state of our planet is deteriorating globally, with a deadly hurricane tearing through the Caribbean as we speak, wildfires raging once more across California, farmers in the UK struggling to grow crops following an unseasonably wet winter, and nature in deep decline, it couldn't be more imperative that the new government makes the environment a top priority. 

"The good news is that many of the solutions to the interlinked crises we face - climate and nature, the economy and our crumbling health system - are one and the same. Labour must now seize the huge opportunities that investment in green growth can bring, such as lower bills, healthier, happier communities, hundreds of thousands of new jobs in clean industries and a safer planet for future generations." 

ENDS 

Notes to editors: 

1. In a scoring of political party manifestos carried out jointly by Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace UK ahead of the general election, the Labour Party scored 20.5 points out of 40 for their green plans. Though this was four times higher than the Conservatives’ offering, both the Green Party and Liberal Democrats scored far higher. To read the full analysis please visit: https://friendsoftheearth.uk/system-change/general-election-2024-manifestos-final-scores

2. ELECTION: Labour's green plans score 4x higher than Tories' | Friends of the Earth