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Clegg welcomes new Green liberalism report on local economic development

As the party conference season gets underway, think tank Green Alliance today publishes the first of three collections of essays: Green liberalism: a local approach to the low carbon economy , under its Green Roots programme .[1]

Green Roots is exploring environmental issues through the three main political traditions: liberalism, social democracy and conservatism.

Green social democracy: better homes in better places , introduced by Ed Miliband, and Green conservatism: protecting the environment through open markets, featuring a foreword by Michael Howard, will be published over the coming weeks .[2]

Conventional wisdom has it that there is a declining interest in green issues in mainstream politics. However, these thoughtful essays, written by leading individuals from across the political spectrum, demonstrate that environmental concern and a desire for a greener future are very much alive in politics. Each collection contains ideas - from politicians, business leaders and academics - likely to influence the future development of party thinking on the environment.

Deputy prime minister welcomes the ideas in the liberalism pamphlet. In his foreword, he says: “This pamphlet is an important contribution to my party’s thinking, raising the question of what we need to accomplish next.”

Contributors include:

• Liberal Democrat MPs Duncan Hames and Julian Huppert write respectively on the contribution of Local Enterprise Partnerships to green economic development and the importance of local approaches to sustainable transport.

• Cllr Keith House , leader of Eastleigh Borough Council, explains why the council has made low carbon growth central to its strategy.

• Lord Shipley and other contributors write on the opportunities they see being offered by the new city deals.

• Duncan Brack , vice chair of the Liberal Democrat Federal Policy Committee says, in his introduction to the essays, that they will “start to set out an agenda for future Liberal Democrat policy development.” [3]

Matthew Spencer , director of Green Alliance, said:

“British liberalism benefits from having many green thinkers in its ranks and strong support for localism. This pamphlet shows how these two impulses can come together to create powerful local and regional activity. These essays suggest that low carbon will play a big role in strengthening local economic development in the next phase of localism.”

For more information, contact Hannah Kyrke-Smith on 020 7630 4520 or at hkyrke-smith@green- alliance.org.uk

Ends

Notes to editors

[1] Green Alliance is a charity and environmental think tank focused on ambitious leadership for the environment. www.green-alliance.org.uk

[2] Green social democracy: better homes in better places will be published on 19 September and features contributions from Chi Onwurah, Will Straw and Michael Jacobs, with a foreword by Ed Miliband. Green conservatism: protecting the environment through open markets will be published on 26 September with contributions from Greg Barker, Dan Byles, Rory Stewart and George Freeman, and a foreword by Lord Howard of Lympne.

[3] The full list of contributors is as follows: • Foreword, Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP , deputy prime minister • Introduction, Duncan Brack , vice chair, Liberal Democrats Federal Policy Committee • ‘Local Enterprise Partnerships and low carbon development: what works and what doesn’t’, Duncan Hames , MP for • ‘Building local consent for the low carbon transition’, Simon Roberts OBE , chief executive, Centre for Sustainable Energy • ‘Low carbon development, the Eastleigh way’, Cllr Keith House , leader, Eastleigh Borough Council • ‘Backing green businesses for a low carbon economy’, Merlin Hyman , chief executive, Regen SW • ‘Regional business support in action: developing Europe’s leading cleantech cluster in Cambridge’, Martin Garratt , chief executive, Cambridge Cleantech • ‘A local approach to sustainable transport’ - Dr Julian Huppert , MP for Cambridge • ‘How local authorities can help to attract finance for the local low carbon economy’, Christoph Harwood , partner, Marksman Consulting • ‘Government policy in action: the contribution of city deals to carbon reduction’, Lord Shipley OBE , adviser to Rt Hon Greg Clark MP, minister for cities • ‘City deals in action: low carbon economic development in the west of England’, Colin Skellett OBE , chairman, West of England Local Enterprise Partnership • ‘How to bring local communities with you’, Juliet Davenport OBE , CEO & founder, Good Energy