Fish, Fracking and Huskies: how to keep the environment on the Election agenda

Posted by RosieRogers — 31 March 2015 at 10:43am - Comments
Greenpeace action, 2009 - protester waving a flag on top of Parliament
All rights reserved. Credit: Greenpeace
Greenpeace action, 2009

In just under 40 days’ time, we’ll be going to the polls to elect a new government and it’s safe to say that this election is too close to call - so every voice and every vote matters. 

The 2015 General Election is important for so many reasons- obviously whichever Party (or Parties) are elected into Government in May will be the ones in power for the next 5 years, but also this year is a really importantly year for our planet. With new international laws and targets to be agreed, 2015 is a crucial year for the future of our climate and natural world.

But as you can guess, the environment isn’t going to be on the top of the political agenda in the next few weeks- where is where Greenpeace comes in!

In the run up to the election we’ll be focusing on three areas: climate change, fracking and healthy seas. And there are lots of ways you can get active in this election so below is a list of what we are up to and how to get involved.

1. Go to a husting event

Although the word husting might conjure up images of David Cameron with a pack of huskies (see below!), hustings are basically events where people who want to be your next MP, all gather in one room to try and win you over for your vote. We have listed over 100 hustings all over the UK here, and we are asking Greenpeace supporters to go and ask questions for us. After the election, me and the other Political Adviser in Greenpeace HQ (his name is Will) will be furiously trying to create profiles of new MPs to find out how green they are. But, this is a pretty impossible task alone, so we are asking Greenpeace supporters to go to a husting and ask one of these questions and then report back to help us build up profiles on future MPs. The other reason we want people to go ask climate related questions is because it reminds local politicians that their voters care about the environment which is really important generally, but especially if they get in power.

2. Get along to a boat tour event

In the run up to the election, our little fishing boat, the Rising Tide is stopping at 25 stops along the coast to put pressure on local politicians to help save our seas.

Local, sustainable fishing fleets are a solution to the crisis facing our dwindling fish stocks. But after years of neglect by successive governments these fishermen and women are facing extinction themselves.

So, along with our friends at NUTFA, we are on a mission to get politicians to sign up as coastal champions and show their dedication to promoting our five point action plan - in the run up to the general election which is:

  1. Give local, sustainable boats a fair share of quota
  2. Restore fish stocks by rewarding selective fishing methods
  3. Protect the ocean in a way that benefits local fishermen and coastal communities
  4. Give local, sustainable boats priority access to coastal waters 
  5. Make sure small scale fishermen are represented at the highest level in Europe

 

By getting coastal champions from all political parties we can make sure the next government puts local, sustainable fishermen first and help protect our marine environment and coastal communities. So with our boat and fishermen, we are making our way around the coast of England stopping along to way to pressure local politicians to sign up to our pledge. The events themselves are a mix of family-fun days (with face paint, games etc) as well as evening events in local community hot spots with refreshments so you, your neighbours, family are all welcome.

Want to get involved? Check out where the Rising Tide is on her journey and if you can get down to support the tour. If you have missed a stop, don’t panic- you can still put pressure on politicians to be a coastal champion! Check the events listings to the right of the page to see if the boat is calling at a port near you.

3. Pressure your local candidates to sign up to a Frack Free Britain

Fracking has become a big political hot topic and the frack-free fight back is growing by the day. With over 200 community groups working to oppose fracking in their communities and fracking in the headlines most days, we are going to use the election to tip the fracking debate over the edge to secure a frack-free Britain.

We have teamed up with Friends of the Earth and created this handy map where you can see which politicians have pledged to protect their community from fracking. As more and more candidates sign the pledge, the greener a region becomes. Our aim- to make the whole map dark green to show the local opposition to fracking from communities and politicians so that political leaders can’t ignore us. So just click here and type in your postcode to see if politicians in your area have pledged to keep your community frack-free. We are also encouraging people to go to their local hustings and pile up the pressure face to face to ensure that candidates say out loud if they support fracking or not – have a look here. We will also being doing loads of off-line activities for fracking with local groups spear heading the work, so get in touch with Rosie for more information.

 

As you know, Greenpeace is not affiliated with any political party. But we are rooting for the planet in this General Election. So spread the word that Greenpeace will fight tooth and nail to make sure the environment is at the top of the political agenda and stays there.

At this general election the stakes are high and there’s all to play for, so let’s set the debate.

About Rosie Rogers

Hi I'm Rosie and I am a Political Adviser at Greenpeace UK! 

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