Friends of the Earth survey of GLA candidates

Local Friends of the Earth groups in Enfield and Haringey have quizzed the main candidates for the Greater London Authority in the two-borough constituency on environmental issues.

Peter Krakowiak (Green) and Joanne McCartney (Labour) both scored 22 out of 22 on the questions posed – through Peter also indicated that the Greens would go even further than we were asking.

Dawn Barnes (Lib Dem) was very close behind with 21 out of 22, being more equivocal about opposing any airport expansion in the South-East.

Andy Hemstead (Conservative) was behind on 6 out of 22. While he supported a lot of the aspirations he did not feel able to sign up to the commitments we were seeking.

A local Friends of the Earth volunteer Stanley Knill said “We are a non-political party organisation and do not advise people how to vote. But we do want to push environmental issues up the agenda – air quality is a real health issue in London; climate change should be a priority for every politician; and open space is vital for our quality of life. So we are keen to get commitments from all the candidates on these and other issues and we will follow up to press whoever gets elected to deliver on their commitments.”

The questions and a score out of 2 for each item are below. We have the full candidates’ responses available on request.

A recent joint quiz by Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace across London also ranked the main Mayoral candidates. Jenny Jones (Green) came out top, followed by Ken Livingstone (labour), then Brian Paddick (Lib Dem) in third place with Boris Johnson last of the four.

For more information contact Quentin Given on 07946 535656 or quentin.given@btinternet.com