Conservative Party X The Wildlife Trusts

During the 2019 General Election, the Conservative Party manifesto pledged to deliver the “most ambitious environmental programme of any country on Earth”.

Since winning the election, they have passed a new Environment Act and introduced a legally binding target to halt the decline of nature by the end of the decade. But, according to the Office for Environmental Protection, wildlife remains in chronic decline and the UK Government are not demonstrably on track to meet any of their environmental targets.

Our panel will discuss whether the Conservative’s election pledge has been met and whether their manifesto this time round will deliver for nature.

Panel:

Rebecca Pow, MP for Taunton Deane and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Rebecca is a scientist by training and a former BBC, ITV and Channel 4 reporter who specialised in the environment, farming and gardening. In 2018, Rebecca was awarded a Green Heart Hero Award by The Climate Coalition, for being the "Greenest New MP.

Ben Goldsmith, Chair of Conservative Environment Network. Ben is CEO of Menhaden Capital and co-founder of specialist long-term investment group WHEB. He is also a non-executive Board member of the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the co-founder of the UK Environmental Funders’ Network, and an Advisory Council member for the Oxford Martin School.

James Murrary, editor-in-chief of BusinessGreen and and co-founder of the Net Zero Festival. James is an award-winning journalist and editor, he is one of the UK's leading commentators on the net zero transition and green economy, featuring frequently on radio and television, as well as industry events.

Chaired by Craig Bennett, Chief Executive, The Wildlife Trusts: Craig started as Chief Executive of The Wildlife Trusts in April 2020. Craig was previously CEO of Friends of the Earth, where he refocussed the organisation on its unique role of empowering communities to take action where they live, and use that momentum to tackle the climate and ecological crisis. He recently became a trustee of the independent think-tank and charity Green Alliance, and is a member of the Advisory Group for the new coalition Unchecked.UK which is making the cause for the common-sense protections that improve people's lives.

Please note we are running a parallel event from the Labour Party conference in Liverpool on October 9th. If you'd like to attend please click here.

If you are not in a position to pay the ticket fee then please get in contact with Jessica, at [email protected], as we wish this event to be available to everyone.

Please note that this event is being recorded by The Wildlife Trusts for YouTube and social media, by booking a ticket you consent that your image and audio could be captured.

Please also note that the venue is not on the ground floor. If you have any queries regarding accessibility please contact us at [email protected]

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Squire Patton Boggs, 1 Hardman Street, Manchester, United Kingdom