Green boost for Liberal Democrats as Northampton heads for conference

9.50.06pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 13th Sep 2007

Liberal Democrats from Northampton have welcomed the results of an audit of policies of the three main political parties that shows Menzies Campbell's party as the best for the environment.

The audit was carried out by a group of major environmental organisations, including Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, the National Trust, the RSPB, the Woodland Trust and WWF-UK.

It awarded the parties "green lights" according to how green their policies were. The Conservatives scored zero, Labour one and the Liberal Democrats three.

Speaking at a meeting of Liberal Democrat members about the forthcoming party conference in Brighton, Andrew Simpson, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Northampton North, said the verdict of the green groups was a great boost for the party.

"This audit has confirmed what we have been saying in Northampton for many years," said Andrew Simpson. "Liberal Democrats are leading the battle of ideas for protecting the environment and cutting the pollution people cause.

"It was Lib Dem Councillors who first called for an Environmental Audit of Northampton Borough Council and who now they have taken control have signed the Council up to a Carbon Management Programme which will see it carbon neutral by 2020."

"At our conference next week we will be debating plans that will put us even further ahead of Labour and the Conservatives. These include plans to shift more people from domestic flights to a greatly improved high speed rail system.

"And we will discuss our plans for cutting income tax by 4p in the pound to 16p, paid for by shifting more of the tax burden onto pollution."