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March 13, 2007
Confused
Sometimes you have to wonder if the leaders of our political parties are in any way whatsoever capable of joined up thinking. Lately we been treated to the entertaining sight of Gordon Brown and David Cameron having a d*ck waving contest over who is the most green.
BBC - Homes must be greener, says Brown
He told the BBC people had to "count the carbon as well as the pennies" and that tax breaks could be offered.
The Scotsman - Tories plan green flight taxes
The Conservative party is planning a range of taxes on air travel as part of a new initiative to tackle climate change which will set personal "green miles" allowances.
The Guardian - Brown and Cameron fight to set the green agenda
The chancellor and the Tory leader outlined rival visions for cutting carbon emissions, as both shaped up to fight each other for the right to be prime minister.
Yet, ironically, both Brown and Cameron are singing from the same hymnsheet when it comes to supporting a potential source of extreme pollution. I am, of course, referring to the replacement for the Trident missile system.
BBC - Trident rebels 'will be defeated'
Ministers have said they are confident of overcoming a possible Labour rebellion over plans to replace the UK's nuclear weapons system.
Opposition to the plans could mean the government will have to rely on the votes of the Conservatives to carry Wednesday's motion to determine whether a new generation of nuclear submarines is acquired and the Trident D5 missiles updated.
Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox said the Conservatives were supporting a replacement for Trident to ensure the UK was "prepared for all eventualities".
The Trident replacement is a no-win situation. If anyone can show me how a ballistic missile system comprising nuclear submarines, nuclear warheads and sub-orbital missile can be environmentally friendly, then feel free to use the comments on this post. Any replacement system will either not be used and thus comprise a waste of billions of pounds, or constitute a massive screwing up of the global environment in the event of the button being pressed. Of course there's bound to be some out there who will claim that the money spent on Trident and any replacement is money well spent, as we have never been subject to a nuclear attack. There again, considering that the list of countries so attack is very short (think Japan), it would be difficult to prove that a British nuclear deterrent has kept us safe.
Sure there are other possible justifications for retaining an independant nuclear strike capability; the French have one; we're a global power, etc, etc, but none of them seem like a good justification for a multi-billion pound outlay.
At the end of the day, we have the "next" leader of the Labour Party and the Leader of HM Opposition both shouting about how green they are, while at the same time preparing to vote to spend billions on the ultimate pollution delivery syste.
Bloody marvellous.
Posted by Clive on March 13, 2007 12:16 PM in the category Conservative