Who is the 'greenest' Leadership candidate

10.30.53am GMT Tue 7th Feb 2006

This post is not 100% serious but was something I was thinking about yesterday and even more when I got home last night. Firstly yesterday Chris Huhne announced his campaign was going to be Carbon Neutral which is surely a good thing but he was in the paper at the weekend for using planes in his campaign (I I have no doubt the others are too). Then I remembered the discussion about cars early in the campaign and then last night I received more post from the candidates - which led me to think who is the greenest.

Carbon Neutral and planes:

As I said Chris Huhne has announced that his campaign is offsetting all of its carbon emissions. He announced this at his manifesto launch he will be using an environmental company called Climate Care to minimise the effect of his campaign on the environment. Chris said "Carbon offsetting is much more than planting a few trees. This week UK scientists highlighted the need for urgent action on climate change. It is no good saying that if we can't be perfect we should do nothing. The findings of scientists show the urgency of the need to act effectively, and act now, to avoid dangerous climate change."

I have not seen any such commitment for the other candidates, I may well email them and ask. Chris however is the only candidate I have seen any coverage about using a plane - I have no doubt that the others are, I would be surprised if they were not. I only saw a news item about Chris as he had chose to fly 'Air Lembit' and of course was able to get to his own manifesto launch in time!

Cars:

Early on in the campaign on the Sky News debate Ming was challenge over his Jag - I have read somewhere Ming has got rid of the Jag - something I really didn't believe, it appears his Son-in-Law now has it. Sky News did not question the other candidates on their driving habits. Simon is famous for have a collection (I believe it is more than one if not I stand corrected) of taxis (including a yellow one!) these run on diesel and are not too environmentally friendly. Chris Huhne does not drive, well I think he can but doesn't (at least not at the moment) but I know when I was last in Eastleigh his Organiser had to drive him and another of my friends has been driving him during the leadership campaign (or at least part of it).

Leaflets and post:

Unsurprisingly as an active Liberal Democrat I had anticipated some leaflets sent through the post to me and I have had a varying amount from the candidates (and emails but they are far more environmentally friendly). Now all candidates have had the same access to my postal address as each other, it is on several party and non-party websites, in party records and regional directories for the West Midlands going back over a number of years.

However I would have hoped the candidates may have merged the lists so I ended up with only one of each mailing. Excluding mailings I have asked for (more in a moment) I have had two different mailings from Ming and Chris and none from Simon as of yet! However I had had by far more bits of post from Chris with a lack of data merge going on, including three in the same post one day!

In my role as Membership Secretary of Wolverhampton and effectively the Membership Secretary in Walsall I asked each campaign for 200 leaflets. Ming sent too many, Chris sent the right amount but I had to remind them once (in typical Focus story the local Post Office had closed early - suggest a campaigning issue there!) and I had to practically beg the Simon campaign and when they arrived it was half the amount I asked for - I am still waiting the the extra!

So who is the greenest?

Well they probably are all very green, or at least try to be - it is an election I don't expect them to be as good as they may always be.

Remember if you do get literature and if you are not keeping it please recycle it!