Britain, France, and the European Union - Comparing Environmental Policies in 16 Countries - page 95

Thatcher's remedy began to work, and the economy picked up. Unlike
Reagan, however, she was concerned about the environment. In particular
she worried about water pollution and the greenhouse effect. By train-
ing she was a chemist, having taken a degree in the subject at Oxford
University. She was persuaded by the scientific facts about pollution.
In 1988 she gave a speech to the Royal Society outlining environmental
dangers, and the following year she addressed the UN General Assembly,
calling for protocols on climate change, ozone depletion, and the preser-
vation of plant species. Thatcher hosted an international conference on
saving the ozone layer. Known as the “Iron Lady,” she imposed her scien-
tific and environmental ideas on the Conservative Party. Today, the Party
continues to claim a strong commitment to a clean environment.
In late 1990 Thatcher lost her position of party leader, and thus the prime
ministership. Her successor, John Major, also a Conservative, continued
her environmental policies, especially about global warming. In 1992 he
went to the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, supporting the Framework
Convention on Climate Change. In spite of Major's speeches, environmen-
tal policy moved to the back burner during his time in office. With respect
to Europe, the party opposed further integration, particularly for a com-
mon currency. Most Conservatives were Eurosceptics. After losing control
of the House of Commons and being in the minority, it focused on mar-
ginal social issues like immigration. The party retained its pro-business
philosophy, but public opinion polls showed that voters considered Labour
to be better at developing the economy. The Conservative Party acquired
the insulting label of “the nasty party.”
In the 2010 election, the Conservatives bounced back. Voters had
tired of Labour after 13 years. Under the leadership of David Cameron,
the Conservative Party won 306 seats in the House of Commons, not
quite enough for a majority of 326. Cameron recruited the small Liberal
Democrat Party with 62 seats to form a coalition. This was not a natural
combination since the smaller party was more favorable to the environ-
ment and advocated closer ties to Europe. Nevertheless, the coalition gov-
ernment pledged to protect the environment, including biodiversity and
tree planting. Indeed, the Conservatives recently changed their party logo
to the oak tree. With the European fiscal crisis that threatened to destroy
the euro as a currency and plunge Greece, Italy, and Portugal into bank-
ruptcy, environmental policy seemed secondary.
Although two parties dominate British politics, the kingdom does
have a small Green Party. It was organized in 1973, first calling itself the