Star date: 30th April 2019

TEN QUESTIONS ON EVERYTHING FROM PAVEMENT PARKING TO CLIMATE EMERGENCY

A Manchester Friends of the Earth survey on the environment, to which all 105 candidates for this week's Salford City Council election were asked to respond, drew only 23 replies, with no Tory or UKIP candidates responding at all.

Questions ranged from supporting a climate emergency to agreeing that Greater Manchester Pension Fund should fully divest from fossil fuels in the next two years, and whether to support a ban on pavement parking.

Full details here...

Manchester Friends of the Earth invited all Greater Manchester candidates in this week's local election to fill out a survey about their views on the environment. In Salford, only 23 out of 105, or 22%, have bothered to respond.

Ten responses were received from Green Party candidates, five from the LibDems, three from the Labour Party, three from Independents, and one from the Women's Equality Party and Veterans and Peoples Party. No Conservative or UKIP candidates responded.

The ten questions were...

1. Will you support (or have you supported) a Climate Emergency motion in your local authority area?
All candidates who responded agreed to this.  
 
2. Do you agree that the Greater Manchester Pension Fund should fully divest from fossil fuels in the next two years?
All candidates agreed, except Claremont Labour Party candidate Mike Pevitt who stated he didn't know.
 
3. Do you support the introduction of a zero-carbon standard for all new buildings in Greater Manchester from 2021?
All candidates agreed, except Samuel Clarke, Green Party candidate for Swinton South who replied that he didn't know.
  
4. Will you commit to taking Carbon Literacy training within one year of being elected?
 All candidates agreed.

5. Do you support the introduction of a Clean Air Zone D (which includes private cars) in the Regional Centre?
By far the most controversial question with five candidates not backing it - Samuel Clarke, Green Party candidate for Swinton South, Dave Pike, Independent candidate for Cadishead and Martin Kenyon, Veterans And Peoples Party for Kersal didn't know, while Bryan Blears, Green Party candidate for Claremont, and Gina Reynolds, Labour Party candidate for Langworthy stated 'No'...

... "At present including private cars would make many people in Salford poorer, as they would not have the funds to change their vehicle - unless they were compensated" explained Gina Reynolds.
 
6. Will you support re-regulation (otherwise known as London-style public control) of our bus services in Greater Manchester?
All candidates agreed, except Jake Overend, LibDem candidate for Claremont who stated he didn't know.

7. Would you support a ban on pavement parking in your council area?
All candidates agreed except Bryan Blears (Green, Claremont) who stated he didn't know but would support "In reasonable circumstances", plus Jake Overend (LibDem, Claremont) and Samuel Clarke (Green, Swinton South) who also stated they didn't know.

8. Do you support the introduction of a cap on emissions from flights to and from Manchester Airport?
All candidates agreed, except Mike Pevitt (Labour, Claremont) and Martin Kenyon (Veterans And Peoples Party, Kersal) who stated 'don't know', and
Joe Johnson-Tod (LibDem, Langworthy) who stated he didn't support the cap... "While I believe this is a good idea in theory, I do not believe that it is practical. I would support this measure if steps were taken to reduce emissions by planes..."
  
9. Do you support (or have you supported) the phase out of pesticide use in your local authority area?
All candidates supported this statement, except Mike Pevitt (Labour, Claremont) and Joe Johnson-Tod (LibDem, Langworthy), who stated that they didn't know... "I support the ban of pesticides that are proven to be harmful to the environment, but weed killing is often a necessity and banning the use of pesticides completely does not seem productive" responded Joe Johnson-Tod.
 
10. Do you support the procurement of school milk in plastic-free containers?
All candidates supported this statement, except Andy Markham (LibDem, Weaste and Seedley) who replied that he didn't know... "Giving children dairy products every day is far worse for the environment than the plastic" he added "I support plastic-free but we also must urgently discourage consumption of meat and dairy."

Speaking about the survey, Catherine Thomson, Manchester Friends of the Earth co-ordinator said: "We wouldn't dream of telling people which way to vote but we think voters have the right to know where candidates stand on urgent environmental issues that are affecting all our lives, such as climate change and air pollution.

"Our elected councillors need to put young people first and act now for a sustainable future" she added "The longer we put off these tough decisions the harder it will be for future generations."

To see whether your local candidate in Salford responded to the survey and how they feel – click here and find your ward.

Update: 3:30pm - In response to comments from candidates (see Comments box), Manchester Friends of the Earth has been in contact with the following statement... "We could not find direct contacts for all candidates - but we emailed, Facebook messaged or tweeted at the various political parties.
In response to the comments from Mary Ferrer and Joe O'Neill. We put a request on Mary Ferrer's Facebook page on 18th April. We tweeted at Joe O'Neill at @Mole45 several times (first tweet on 15th April)..."