One third of parliamentary candidates pledge to make the climate a deal-breaker if elected

Over 1,000 prospective parliamentary candidates (1,031 as of 05/12/19) out of 3,006 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have taken a Friends of the Earth pledge to make the climate crisis a deal-breaker in how they would vote in parliament if elected.

The pledges have been collected by Friends of the Earth – which has been asking its supporters and the public to contact candidates to take the pledge - and released today* (5th December) as part of its campaign for all candidates to make the climate crisis central to how they vote in parliament, and to support measures to rapidly cut greenhouse gas emissions, if elected.

The public can use Friends of the Earth’s postcode look-up tool to see see who’s standing for election in their constituency and whether they’ve taken the pledge here

The online version of the data syncs every 15 minutes to reflect further pledges and can be viewed here

Muna Suleiman, campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said:

“The public wants climate action and it’s encouraging to see so many parliamentary candidates paying attention, but we need them all to take the climate crisis seriously. We’re calling on all parliamentary candidates to make the climate crisis a deal breaker in how they would vote in parliament, if elected.

“The climate crisis is having dire impacts around the world, including on communities right here in the UK who are facing extreme flooding, heatwaves, wildfires and more. This will only get worse if the next government doesn’t step up to stop further climate breakdown. It’s time for decision-makers to show proper climate leadership and put in place the clear and achievable solutions to build a greener, fairer world.”

The pledge, which is available online for any parliamentary candidate to take, reads as below.

If elected, I pledge to:

• Make the climate crisis a deal-breaker in how I vote in parliament.
• Vote to support measures that help us rapidly cut greenhouse gas emissions and build a fairer and greener society.

Notes

1. *Numbers accurate as of 05/12/2019. There is still time for candidates to add their name to the pledge. The online version of the data syncs every 15 minutes to reflect further pledges and can be viewed here
2. See who’s standing for election in your area and whether they’ve taken the pledge here
3. Friends of the Earth only asked candidates in England, Wales & Northern Ireland. Friends of the Earth Scotland is a separate organisation so parties such as the Scottish National Party (SNP) are not included in the data.
4. Friends of the Earth supporters, and other members of the public have been able to email all candidates for whom there is a publicly available email address. Data has been collated by Democracy Club.
5. Friends of the Earth is independent of all political parties and does not endorse or favour any particular party. We are calling on all political parties to adopt these policies in their manifestos and will hold them to account for any promises made following the election.