Conservatives Backtrack On Environment

The lead headlines from George Osborne's shadow Chancellor conference speech is the abolition of inheritance tax up to a ceiling of £1 million.

Less focused on is the dropping of plans to charge people to park at out-of-town supermarkets.

More people driving out to the A45 to Saino's and Tesco means less people shopping on high streets like Earlsdon.

Meanwhile, David Cameron, has said, both to the Times, and to Andrew Marr this past Sunday, that:

We've decided the right option is to not do VAT on domestic flights, not to have some sort of air-miles allowance and instead to tax the pollution that planes cause. That is very sensible approach. And every penny, this is vital, every penny, of any new green tax will go back to families in a family tax cut.

This translates as: we will tax planes that are flying empty between London and Manchester, whilst we won't tax planes that are flying full from London to Milan.

It ignores the fact that Hilary Benn's announcment at Labour conference of phasing out high-energy lightbulbs year by year would be wiped out, carbon savings wise, by adding a runway at Stansted. The only way to restrict the growth in carbon emissions from aviation is to reduce airport capacity.

As for green taxes going into a "family fund" for future tax cuts, wouldn't it be better to take all the monies raised from green taxes and put them towards green improvements? Taxing cars, so that we can invest in public transport, so people don't have to use cars as much? Taxing cars, so that we can invest in cycling infrastructure/rent-a-bike programmes, so people don't have to use cars as much? Oh no, Cameron has to blow the dog whistle to Tory voters out in the heartland, I'm really a tax cutter at heart, not a loony greenie.

I bet Zac Goldsmith is starting to wonder what he's got himself into, with many of his key recommendations being dropped day-by-day.