We Conservatives are natural stewards of the environment.
The clue is in our name – we want to conserve for future generations.
So just as we balance the books to avoid leaving our children with mountains of debt – so too we look after our environment to pass on the planet in a healthy state.
Our desire to protect our environment comes from that innate conservative desire to care for our communities; to look after our homes.
It’s what drives this Government’s desire to be the boldest yet in protecting our natural world.
And it’s what has driven my involvement in community litter picks in Plymouth.
Living on the coast means as residents of Plymouth, we have both land and sea to protect.
Over the last couple of years, we have seen groups of volunteers spring up to do just that.
Plymouth Beach Clean led by an inspirational marine scientist - Oleta - leads groups on local beaches and educates young and old on the impact of plastic in our seas.
And we have Clean Our Patch - a rapidly growing network of litter picking ambassadors across the city led by Ash and El. To date they have grown from 2 people to 18 groups of volunteers.
Together, they’ve collected approximately 65 tonnes of rubbish off the streets of Plymouth. Around 2000 people are volunteering and doing their bit to make our local environment cleaner and healthier.
Joining in with these volunteer groups and meeting with and promoting others including Environment Plymouth and Students Vs Extinction means I can actively support the local grassroots work being done to protect and enhance our community and protect the world.
But it’s not just enough to care – you have to have the right policies.
We face serious environmental challenges.
From climate change to ocean plastics.
Yet the Labour Party are simply not serious about tackling them.
Their solutions – from reopening the coal mines to renationalising the energy system – would put up ordinary peoples bills and fail to protect our precious planet.
You can’t apply the solutions of the 1970s to the challenges of the 21st century.
Meanwhile this modern Conservative Party is investing in the modern technologies – like electric vehicles and offshore wind – that will help deliver both the net zero target and good jobs.
It is planting new forests and pledging new targets for clean air.
Only a Conservative Government can be trusted to protect our environment and as a Conservative, I pledge to continue my involvement, leading by example in my community, being a voice for more decisive action to protect our environment both locally and beyond.
