Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
This changed about 1995 when Tony Blair and a group of moderates won
control of the party and adopted a centrist platform that appealed to the
middle class, leading to a stunning victory in 1997.
In the past the Labour Party was not a logical friend of the environment
because of its commitment to the Mineworkers Union and other industrial
trade unions. The nationalized Coal Board wanted production, not regu-
lation. Even as the country's coal reserves were being depleted to almost
nothing, the government subsidized mining to maximize employment,
and hence votes. Strip mining was destroying the land, but the Coal Board
fought reclamation. The Board joined the government-owned British Steel
Corporation to oppose air pollution controls. New Labour, as the party
now liked to call itself, is pro-environment, bragging about cleaning up
beaches, rivers, and drinking water, and purifying the air. In  the 1997
election, Blair campaigned with strong environmental language in the
Labour Manifesto .
The Conservative Party was not a logical friend of the environment
either. For most of the 20th century, it was more favorable to industry than
the Labour Party. After the 1952 London Smog, the Conservative gov-
ernment, in spite of holding a large majority in the House of Commons,
declined to introduce its own Clean Air Bill, but waited until a private bill
was agreed upon to back its own version, eventually passed in 1956. In the
1970s support came from both parties. The Conservative Party strength-
ened its protection at the same time it was privatizing the government role.
Much of the reason was personal commitment and leadership. In  1979
Margaret Thatcher became prime minister after an election victory, intro-
ducing many ideas for a free market as a way to cure economic stagnation.
She was a strong advocate of a smaller role for government, blaming the
kingdom's economic woes on nationalized industries like coal and steel,
heavy-handed state regulation, and lack of free enterprise incentives. Early
on she began to sell state-owned corporations, including the North Sea oil
and gas corporations, as well as municipal water works. Thatcher sold the
government share of British Oil and British Gas. Her policy both resembled
and inspired the free market approaches popular in the United States under
the Reagan administration. A strong influence came from the Institute of
Economic Affairs, a private think tank. The institute does not lobby or try
to influence specific legislation but prefers to try to change elite opinion.
Since the 1970s, both parties have been influenced by its arguments. Its
spokesman claims “We try to make it easier for Conservatives to be brave,
and make it harder for Labour to be socialist.” 4
Search WWH ::




Custom Search