Natalie Bennett: Campaign against climate change ‘hit a real low’
The campaign against man-made climate change "hit a real low" last year but is beginning to recover, the leader of the Green party has said.
In an eve-of-conference interview with Politics.co.uk, Natalie Bennett said the economic crash had severely damaged the cause of climate campaigners.
"I think we hit a real low point about 12 months ago and it's entirely understandable," she said.
"When people are worrying about paying for tomorrow's lunch or next week's rent or next month's mortgage payment, it's very hard to focus on the bigger picture of the world of ten, or 20, or 50 years time."
She predicted that recent environmental disasters and the "considerable resistance" over fracking would restore the Green party's electoral fortunes.
"The evidence of climate change is so clear that we're back on the upswing and fracking has been a big issue in helping to bring it to the forefront of people's minds."
"We've seen a dip but we're going to see a steady rise again by the time of the european elections next year."
She also said the party would consider working with Ed Miliband in the event of another hung parliament.
"I think Tony Blair who took us into the Iraq War was deeply problematic but I don't think on current evidence that Ed Miliband is as problematic as Tony Blair was."
Bennett predicted the party would never go into coalition with the Tories but said they might consider a 'confidence and supply' arrangement instead.
"That might mean that you don't get the ministerial car but it would mean you could sleep a little more comfortably at night."
In a wide-ranging interview, Bennett said the party had moved away from being seen as an "anti-science" party.
She said she did not believe in homeopathy but stopped short of calling for it to be removed from the NHS.
Bennett also defended her party's involvement in a protest that threatened the destruction of GM research.
The Green party begin their autumn conference today in Brighton.
