In the news
Bright Blue’s polling report Green conservatives? was referenced in an article written by the WWF’s Tony Juniper, for the Ecologist.
In the article, Tony says how the findings of our polling “help explain the subsequent very welcome rise in profile of environmental issues in politics, laying the foundations for stronger cross-party consensus.”
Read the full article here.
Bright Blue's polling on younger voters' attitudes towards policy issues which they would like to hear senior politicians talk more about was referenced in an article in the Financial Times.
Leslie Hook writes that the "UK government has accelerated its green agenda since a poll conducted for the Tories last year found that climate change was the issue voters between the ages of 18 and 28 wanted politicians to prioritise more."
Read the full article.
Our researcher, Eamonn Ives, has written for HuffPost about the launch of the Government's 25 Year Environment Plan. In the article, he referenced how many of the policies contained in the Plan have been championed by Bright Blue, including the coal phase-out and a rethink of rural payments once Britain leaves the Common Agricultural Policy.
Read the full article here.
Bright Blue's senior research fellow, Sam Hall, was quoted in an article for BuzzFeed about the Conservative Party's environment policy. He spoke of the "big political opportunity" which is available to the Party in terms of positive announcements on the environment. He further added:
I think it's an issue that appeals to centre-ground voters, to people in urban areas, Remain voters as well – people who the Conservatives need to win over in future. It's not particularly unpopular with any demographic, but it's particularly popular with the ones that the party needs to reach.
Read the full article here.
Bright Blue's senior research fellow, Sam Hall, was quoted in an article from the Independent about the Conservative Party's environment policies and young people. Our polling, which shows how important environment issues are for the under 40s, was also referenced. Speaking about the 2017 General Election, Sam said:
One of the main reasons the Conservatives lost their parliamentary majority in 2017 was their failure to appeal to the younger, socially liberal voters of metropolitan Britain. It’s very welcome the Government now recognises the political opportunity of going green.
Read the full article here.
Bright Blue's senior research fellow, Sam Hall, was quoted in an article in i News about the Conservative Party's recent form on environmental policy. Speaking about the Environment Secretary, the Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, Sam praised the "renewed energy and passion" he has brought to the brief. Sam further added:
These are big important policy issues. I do also think the politics of it is very clever. It's in line with the traditional Conservative principles around defending the natural inheritance for the next generation, but also it very much appeals to younger voters.
Read the full article here.
