Bright Blue has today launched a new report entitled Green and responsible conservatism, recommending new policies to revitalise green conservatism and promote long-termism across the economy.

Bright Blue’s new report suggests that the Conservative Party must use the opportunity of a majority government to push through reforms that can simultaneously deal with the UK’s productivity crisis and support a cleaner and more sustainable society. Bright Blue’s new report suggests that the Conservative Party can broaden its electoral appeal by using this and successive Budgets to demonstrate it is a reliable and trustworthy steward of not only the economy, but the environment too.

The report proposes ambitious and cost-effective policies based around three major themes: tackling the tragedy of horizons in public and private sector institutions, securing value for money in relation to environmental outcomes, and urging a new internationalism to address climate change.

Commenting on the report, Author and Associate Fellow of Bright Blue, Ben Caldecott said:

“Embedding sustainability and long-termism within the UK economy is key to reinvigorating our national productivity and competitiveness. Doing so will also benefit the natural environment, help address climate change, and improve quality of life."

"There is an unique opportunity to demonstrate that the Conservative Party is a reliable and trustworthy steward of not only the economy, but of the environment too. A majority Conservative Government must work to incentivise long-termism throughout the economy - endemic short-termism is a drag on the economy, destroys our environment, and results in missed economic opportunities.”

Lord Michael Howard, the former Leader of the Conservative Party, who wrote the foreword for the report, said:

“Ever since Margaret Thatcher’s speech to the UN General Assembly in 1989, British Conservatives have been in the vanguard of developing environmental policy. It is vital for that tradition to be maintained.”

“Bright Blue puts forward a series of radical, far-reaching proposals which would significantly change the way we do things. And, though they are undoubtedly radical, they are, for the most part, fairly and squarely consistent with Conservative principles. Underlying all of them is the desire to embed sustainability and long-termism within the UK economy.  And that, surely, should be at the heart of a Conservative approach to the challenges we face”.