Not sure who to vote for? See how our experts ranked and rated the main parties’ green policies.
There’s a general election on Thursday 4 July. But who should you vote for?
To help you cut through the political spin, we’ve teamed up with Friends of the Earth to comb through the parties’ manifestos and reveal who’s really standing up for the future of our planet.
Everyone has to make their own choice about how to vote. But if climate and nature is a priority for you, we hope you find it helpful.
Parties’ scores are based on the strength of the climate and nature commitments in their manifestos and other major policy announcements. Who came out on top?
It depends on where you live, and what matters most to you.
The way the UK’s voting system works means that in many places, only two parties stand a chance of winning.
So if it is a tight race between the two leading parties in your area, you might want to vote for the one that scores highest and can win (even if you don’t find them very inspiring). This is called tactical voting.
For example, many seats will be a close contest between Labour and the Conservatives. And despite their shortcomings, we scored Labour four times higher and found a big difference between the two parties’ plans.
Learn more about tactical voting.
Equally, you might prefer to vote for the party that best reflects your views, so as to register your support for them in the final vote share. It’s your vote and your choice!
First, we created a list of the 40 most important things a UK government could do for climate and nature.
Experts from Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth read each party’s published manifestos and analysed their policies.
Parties scored one point for each policy they’ve committed to – or half a point for a partial commitment.
See the best and worst bits of the Conservative, Green, Labour and Lib Dem manifestos. Where did each party deliver, and where did they fall short?
Is Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party good for climate and nature? After more than a decade in power, their approach to the issue has shifted over time. Here are the Conservatives’ strengths and weaknesses on green issues.
The Conservative Party’s manifesto is worrying reading.
They’re doubling down on oil and gas when increased dependence on gas will result in higher bills, more energy price shocks and an increase in climate-wrecking emissions.
It’s good news that they would ratify the Global Ocean Treaty swiftly, but there’s no credible plan to stop sewage in our rivers and seas.
They’re promising new gas plants and more dependence on the very fossil fuels that caused the cost of living crisis. This will only result in higher bills, more energy insecurity and increase our climate-wrecking emissions.
The environment is their signature issue, but is the Green Party really green? Here are the best and worst bits of their green offering to voters.
There is no long term prosperity or security for anyone without tackling the climate and nature crisis, and the Green Party manifesto clearly recognises this.
Topping the ranking, the Green Party has an ambitious plan to invest in renewables, green homes, better public transport, nature restoration and fair support for green farming. There is also support for developing countries to deal with growing climate impacts.
We keep hearing from the main parties that there’s no money to fund vital services and climate action, but that’s clearly not true. The Green party proposes funding its investments through wealth taxes, taxes on polluting companies and borrowing.
The super-rich have the broadest shoulders, and they are also responsible for the most climate damage. It’s only right that they pay more towards upgrading our homes, infrastructure and public services.
Does the Labour Party under Keir Starmer have good green policies? Here are their strengths and weaknesses on climate and nature.
Promising climate commitments from the Labour Party include the creation of Great British Energy to boost clean energy projects across the country and lower bills, as well as investment in green homes, and an end to new oil and gas licences. Plans to ban zero hour contracts and boost workers’ rights will also help ensure new green jobs are secure and good quality.
However, their investment in the green transition doesn’t go far enough. You can’t deliver real change with spare change.
Repairing our crumbling public services, restoring nature and supporting vulnerable communities facing climate impacts is going to require more government investment.
Labour’s policies on tackling industrial fishing and plastic pollution also don’t go far enough.
How strong are the Lib Dems’ green policies? Here are their strengths and weaknesses on climate and nature.
The Lib Dems have set a high bar on climate and nature, with a fair approach to the transition that shields those struggling with the cost of living, and recognises the UK’s responsibility to support climate-vulnerable countries around the world.
They show willing to invest in warmer homes, public transport, renewable energy and essential services, with fair tax reforms, even taking on the UK’s private jet-setters and casino bankers where necessary. The super-rich bear a far greater responsibility for the carbon already heating our planet, and together with polluting companies they should pay a much greater share of the costs.
The lack of courage in confronting the fossil fuel industry’s relentless drive for more gas, more oil and more plastic is a glaring weakness. And more detail on the fiscal side would be welcome.
We didn’t score the SNP because many of the overall scoring criteria apply UK-wide, and it wouldn’t be fair to judge a Scotland-specific party by this standard. However, their manifesto is still full of important policy commitments to try to win your vote. So we’ve taken a look and analysed their offer for you.
Overall, this SNP manifesto is lacking the decisive leadership on climate – and nature protection in particular – that we have known in the past from the SNP. Although we have had assurances from the party that they would support further important policies such as speedy ratification of the Global Ocean Treaty into UK law, and the Global Plastics Treaty, their engagement on these issues has been very light and they have not provided us with any detail.
What’s more, back in April of this year the Scottish government said that they would repeal parts of its Climate Change Act, following the assessment of the Climate Change Committee that the government would no longer meet its statutory 2030 goal to reduce emissions by 75%. This was due to insufficient action from the Scottish government over many years – including in devolved areas for which it has sole responsibility. The commitments made in many areas sound good, but we need to see real plans, and much more detail, to achieve real progress. Only then can we have proper confidence that the SNP means action, not just warm words.
We didn’t score Plaid Cymru because many of the overall scoring criteria apply UK-wide, and it wouldn’t be fair to judge a Wales-specific party by this standard. However, their manifesto is still full of important policy commitments to try to win your vote. So we’ve taken a look and analysed their offer for you.
Plaid Cymru have recognised in their manifesto that “the climate and nature emergencies are the biggest threat to mankind on a global scale”. While light on key details, their ambitious targets on things like net zero, economic fairness and green infrastructure shows exactly the kind of high-level commitment we want to see.
Overall, Plaid has some good policies for both people and the planet. But their manifesto is missing the key information of how they would deliver, and pay for, the planet-saving policies they’ve identified.
From solar to sewage, see how the parties compare on the issues that matter most to you.
To keep things simple, we can boil all those green policies down to four key areas.
Let’s dig into each area and see how the parties performed.
Which party has the best policies to cut emissions, fix the grid, and make the most of the UK’s amazing renewable resources?
Parties were judged against this list of ideal climate and energy policies. They scored one point for each policy they’ve committed to – or half a point for a partial commitment.
Which party will do the most to tackle sewage in our rivers, cut plastic pollution and protect nature around the world?
Parties were judged against this list of ideal nature and environment policies. They scored one point for each policy they’ve committed to – or half a point for a partial commitment.
Who has the strongest ideas to bring down bills, save energy, and build a public transport system that works for everyone?
Parties were judged against this list of ideal housing and transport policies. They scored one point for each policy they’ve committed to – or half a point for a partial commitment.
Which party will do the most to protect our rights, build a fairer economy and stand up for the most vulnerable around the world?.
Parties were judged against this list of ideal justice and democracy policies. They scored one point for each policy they’ve committed to – or half a point for a partial commitment.
To have the biggest impact with your vote, you’ll need to consider who can win in your area, not just who’s best overall. Here’s how you can work it out.
This election is the best shot we have at electing a government that’s up to the job of tackling the climate and nature crisis.
The way the UK’s voting system works means that in many places, only two parties stand a chance of winning. Because of this, voting for the highest-scoring party overall won’t necessarily deliver any extra seats for that party.
So if your area is a close race between the two leading parties, you might want to vote for the party that scores highest and can win in your area (even if you don’t find them very inspiring). This is called tactical voting.
Or you might prefer to vote for the highest-scoring party regardless, to show your support for them in the final vote share – it’s your vote, and your choice!
If you do want to vote tactically, you can use the Electoral Calculus site to see which parties have the best chance of winning in your area.
Here’s an example from Suffolk Central and Ipswich North.
In a seat like this, voting tactically would mean voting Labour, because other, higher-scoring parties are extremely unlikely to win here.
Here’s another example, from Wells and Mendip Hills.
In a seat like this, voting tactically would mean voting for the Lib Dems because the Lib Dems’ positions are much stronger than the Conservatives’ on these issues.
And here’s one final example from South Shields.
In a seat like this, the polls suggest that only one party can win, so there’s no opportunity to make a difference with tactical voting. Follow your heart!
Now it’s your turn. Enter your postcode below to see the Electoral Calculus prediction for your constituency – then make your choice!
Hitting submit will take you to the prediction page for your postcode on the Electoral Calculus website. Greenpeace won’t store or share the data you enter on this form.
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