• Disrupting Power Since 2015
  • Donate
  • Login
Thursday, May 15, 2025
  • Login
  • Register
Canary
MEDIA THAT DISRUPTS
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
MANAGE SUBSCRIPTION
SUPPORT
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
Canary
No Result
View All Result

A court case has shown how Labour could win the next election

Steve Topple by Steve Topple
13 November 2018
in UK
Reading Time: 5 mins read
165 7
A A
0
Home UK
319
SHARES
2.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A court case which Labour supported has led to one campaign group saying it could win the party the next election. But is it really that cut-and-dried?

Labour and Heathrow

As was widely reported, on Friday 5 October the High Court allowed five cases against the government to go to judicial review. They were all about the government’s plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport. In June, it won a vote to go ahead with the expansion. Labour gave its MPs a free vote, meaning 119 of them voted with the government. But since then, Conservative Lord Deben and crossbench peer Baroness Brown have written to transport secretary Chris Grayling. They pointed out that Grayling’s policy statement on Heathrow failed to mention the government’s climate change commitments and how a third runway would impact them.

As City AM reported:

The decision [the vote in parliament] proved to be divisive across all parties and prompted five legal challenges: from the London mayor Sadiq Khan, who is joining the action from five local councils and Greenpeace; Heathrow rival Heathrow Hub; Friends of the Earth; Plan B and Heathrow opponent Neil Spurrier.

The hearing is due to be heard over two weeks in March 2019 in front of two judges.

McDonnell speaks

But at Friday’s hearing, Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell spoke. As The Canary‘s Mohamed Elmaazi reported, he raised Labour’s serious concerns about the environmental impact of a third Heathrow runway. McDonnell said:

It isn’t just our homes; it isn’t just our community. It’s our planet itself. This would be such a retrograde step… we have to ensure climate change is halted. This will undermine any credibility of any government to in any way say that they’re tackling climate change. This will undermine any possibility of meeting climate change targets.

If we don’t win in the courts, I tell you this: Heathrow and the third runway campaign will be the iconic battleground – not just in London, not just in this country, but across Europe and the globe against climate change.

His strong response also echoes Labour’s shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey’s stance. As she wrote for HuffPost:

Climate change cannot, and will not, be tackled by relying on the actions of individuals or markets, however well intentioned. In the past, the role of government has been limited to adjusting price signals, with the hope that this will change the behaviour of consumers and business. It’s now clear that this isn’t working.

Climate change is an existential risk, and it needs radical and structural change to deal with it.

Labour’s seemingly radical approach to climate change has impressed one of the Heathrow challengers: legal charity Plan B.

Labour “will win the next election”

Plan B director Tim Crosland told The Canary:

The heart of the political left (and in particular the anti-colonialist, internationalist left) is the politics of justice and equality.

The climate crisis is now so urgent and so serious, jeopardising the future of all the young people of this country, and wreaking havoc on the poor and the vulnerable around the world, that any movement of the left that fails to confront it head-on betrays its most fundamental principles.

There are signs the Labour leadership now recognises this. Its recently published ‘Green Transformation’ policy promises to tackle the crisis without ‘political compromise’.

But Labour MPs were allowed to vote for Heathrow (and did so in numbers). That was hopeless political compromise. Changing the base of the economy is not going to be pain-free and Labour needs to be honest about that…

But there is also a huge opportunity. The transformation will create vast demand for skilled labour… it will clean our air, reclaim our streets and help to rebuild communities. It offers a vision of hope for the many and not just the few.

If the Labour leadership makes a bold response to the climate crisis central to its vision, it will win the next election and, more important still, help to safeguard the future of our brilliant young people.

Enter the Greens

But the Green Party leadership is making moves. Its co-leader Sian Berry directly called out Labour in her party conference speech. She said:

To Labour – thanks for listening. Where Greens lead others follow. We’re the first to congratulate you on your journey…

But Labour’s leaders still have a lot to learn from the Green Party. They still have to drop that old 20th century notion that says ‘growth is good’.

Greens put real prosperity at the heart of our policies. A real transition to a healthy economy that stays within the environment’s limits because what else can it do?

Greens want an end to airport expansion. Not at City Airport, not at Heathrow, not at Gatwick or Bristol, Labour have failed on this.

Greens only support clean energy, but Labour won’t give up on fossil fuels or nuclear.

Climate catastrophe

So is Labour really waking up to the reality of climate change? It will be interesting to see its response to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) damning report. As the IPCC warned, we could cross the threshold into climate catastrophe as soon as 2030. And it noted that governments would need to spend trillions of dollars to stop this. Labour’s policy already matches one of the IPCC’s targets: to reach zero net emissions by 2050. But while Labour’s bold new stance on climate change is good, time will tell whether it’s good enough, or not.

Get Involved!

– Support Plan B on Twitter and donate to its crowdfunder to sue the government over climate change.

– Sign the People and Planet petition to force the government to act on the Paris Agreement.

– Join The Canary so we can keep holding the powerful to account.

Featured image via Guardian News – YouTube

Share128Tweet80
Previous Post

Labour’s Chris Williamson takes apart the Guardian for pretending to be left-wing

Next Post

He may be a wasteman, but the media spin on Gove’s latest proposal is just trash

Next Post
Sunday Times headline that reads 'Michael Gove’s hot tip: hunt for gold in others’ rubbish'

He may be a wasteman, but the media spin on Gove's latest proposal is just trash

Jeff Bezos

Media owner Jeff Bezos snapped laughing with Saudi prince accused of having a journalist murdered

Jair Bolsonaro has been described as a 'fascist'.

'Fascist' candidate takes overwhelming lead in battle to rule Latin America's biggest economy

Nicola Sturgeon delivering a speech

Nicola Sturgeon takes down a Daily Mail 'political hack' with just 10 words

The DWP logo and grave stones

The DWP is slammed after it's forced to reveal that 10,000 ESA claimants have died

The British Museum just held an event with the Israeli embassy - and the Met police responded by repressing Palestine protesters
News

British Museum holds event with the Israeli embassy – so Met Police respond by repressing Palestine protesters

by The Canary
14 May 2025
EXPOSED: the public is paying for Keir Starmer's in-laws to live virtually rent-free in London
Analysis

EXPOSED: the public is paying for Keir Starmer’s in-laws to live virtually rent-free in London

by Ed Sykes
14 May 2025
People are coming together on 7 June to oppose Labour's DWP benefit cuts
News

People are coming together on 7 June to oppose Labour’s DWP benefit cuts

by The Canary
14 May 2025
Keir Starmer's 'Island of Strangers' speech: channeling the racist rhetoric of Enoch Powell
Opinion

Is Keir Starmer capable of killing?

by Jamie Driscoll
14 May 2025
As an ACTUAL GENOCIDE continues, its apologists come for Gary Lineker over an emoji
Opinion

As an ACTUAL GENOCIDE continues, its apologists come for Gary Lineker over an emoji

by Ed Sykes
14 May 2025
  • Contact
  • About & FAQ
  • Get our Daily News Email
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy

The Canary
PO Box 71199
LONDON
SE20 9EX

Canary Media Ltd – registered in England. Company registration number 09788095.

For guest posting, contact [email protected]

For other enquiries, contact: [email protected]

The Canary is owned and run by independent journalists and volunteers, NOT offshore billionaires.

You can write for us, or support us by making a regular or one-off donation.

© Canary Media Ltd 2024, all rights reserved | Website by Monster | Hosted by Krystal | Privacy Settings

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • UK
    • Global
    • Analysis
    • Trending
  • Editorial
  • Features
    • Features
    • Environment
    • Lifestyle
    • Health
    • Money
    • Science
    • Business
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Sport & Gaming
  • Media
    • Video
    • Cartoons
  • Opinion

© 2023 Canary - Worker's co-op.

Before you go, have you seen...?

The British Museum just held an event with the Israeli embassy - and the Met police responded by repressing Palestine protesters
News
The Canary

British Museum holds event with the Israeli embassy – so Met Police respond by repressing Palestine protesters

EXPOSED: the public is paying for Keir Starmer's in-laws to live virtually rent-free in London
Analysis
Ed Sykes

EXPOSED: the public is paying for Keir Starmer’s in-laws to live virtually rent-free in London

People are coming together on 7 June to oppose Labour's DWP benefit cuts
News
The Canary

People are coming together on 7 June to oppose Labour’s DWP benefit cuts

Keir Starmer's 'Island of Strangers' speech: channeling the racist rhetoric of Enoch Powell
Opinion
Jamie Driscoll

Is Keir Starmer capable of killing?

ADVERTISEMENT
Business
Nathan Spears

When digital isn’t enough: why paper still matters in modern business

Tech
Nathan Spears

How Digital Addictions Are Formed in the Shadow of Large Platforms

Lifestyle
Nathan Spears

Recovery in the Sun: How the Canary Islands are Becoming a Wellness Tourism Hub