Cheltenham MP Praised by Green Groups

A national coalition of environmental and conservation organisations - including Friends of the Earth, WWF, Greenpeace and the RSPB - have praised the new Liberal Democrat policy on the natural environment, adopted at the party's recent conference in Bournemouth. And they singled out Cheltenham MP Martin Horwood, one of the co-authors of the policy, in a letter of thanks to party leader Nick Clegg.

The policy paper, Our Natural Heritage, set out the party's position on protecting wildlife and the natural environment, called for increased access to the countryside, tougher penalties for pollution and wildlife crimes, a new anti-waste strategy and an end to nationally-imposed housing targets that threaten countryside across the UK. It was overwhelmingly passed by the party's conference in Bournemouth last week. The letter signed by the chief executives of eight leading environmental organisations described the policy as 'a coherent and credible set of policies on the natural environment; drawing together policies on the landscape, biodiversity, environmental protection and the growing threat that we face from the depletion of natural resources.'

They went on: 'We would particularly like to take this opportunity to express our thanks to Martin Horwood and his team, who took great trouble to consult with the NGO [non-governmental organisation] community throughout the development of these policies, and were receptive to many of the issues we raised with them'.

Releasing the letter yesterday, party leader Nick Clegg also thanked Martin: 'The Liberal Democrats have always been the leading party on the natural environment, and thanks to the tireless and dedicated efforts of Martin Horwood and his team, we have continued this tradition. The new policy paper shows that we as a party are committed to protecting the spaces we live in, and I applaud everyone involved for bringing it to fruition'