Four environment speeches? Here’s why…

“George Osborne proudly declares that the party is giving FOUR speeches on the environment this week.

“We haven’t had FOUR speeches on immigration all year.”

And that’s it.

There is a very simple reason for this. People know what the Tory immigration position is. There are nuances and tests and changes of emphasis – but as most people don’t pay attention to detail most of the time (read Danny Finkelstein’s great article about the Queen’s Speech if you don’t believe me), the headline understanding that Conservatives will ensure a fair, compassionate and orderly immigration policy is enough. If you want a bit more detail, you might know that they will take into account infrastructure pressures as well as the needs of the economy.

What most people don’t know as much about is how serious the Tories are about their environmental programme.  And lots of (especially swing) voters care about the environment. They may not wholly sign up to the climate change theories, they may not fully understand all the details, but they care because they want their children to grow up in a healthy world, and they don’t want to waste resources needlessly.

I was discussing the approach that a potential Conservative government might take to various areas on Monday. The people I was with were utterly confused by the concept that the Tories mean what they say on this.  But they were absolutely clear that the party means what it says on immigration.

And so that’s why there are more speeches on the environment than on immigration.  It’s to make sure that voters understand that there is a coherent, consistent, rounded approach to policy that touches on most of the things most people care about, and not just the obsessions of a few.