David Cameron has now announced his new Cabinet, including the key environmental portfolios within the coalition government. Policies in this sector have caused significant disagreements between the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives in the past, most notably on nuclear energy which the liberals have consistently resisted. The new appointments reflect the apparent desire amongst both parties to govern in a constructive coalition.

This has been demonstrated by Cameron’s allocation of the weighty Energy and Climate Change brief to the Liberal Democrats’ former environment spokesman Chris Huhne. Huhne’s background in City makes him a practical choice given the big financial commitments a programme of low carbon energy expansion could demand. A new accord over the financial aspects of energy policy, such as the introduction of a low carbon infrastructure bank and green home loans, as well as agreements on the smart meters roll-out and marine energy will keep Huhne and his new department busy over the coming months. Huhne’s biography is available on the DECC website here.

At DEFRA Caroline Spelman has landed Hilary Benn’s former job as Environment, Food and Rural Affairs secretary. With a long farming background and published research on biofuels, Spelman starts the role on a firm footing, given she also took the brief in opposition. Spelman has said she will ‘work across government and beyond to respond to the challenges of increasing food production, adapting to climate change, protecting our natural environment and ensuring we live sustainably.’ See her biography on the DEFRA website here.

Another Conservative, Phillip Hammond MP, will take the transport brief, following his most recent portfolio in opposition as shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury. The prominent Liberal Democrat Vince Cable has been appointed Secretary for Business, Innovation and Skills, whilst the Conservative David Willetts will look after Universities and Science within DBIS, after shadowing the Universities and Skills minister in opposition. Further junior ministerial appointments are expected to be confirmed in the next few days as the Prime Minister fleshes out these departments with politicians from both parties.

Details of the agreements between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have been announced, outlining the coalition’s stance on several environmental topics.

A document on the Liberal Democrat’s website outlines measures seeking to fulfill “joint ambitions for a low carbon and eco-friendly economy”.

Measures include aims to encourage marine energy production and significantly increase energy production from waste, continue public sector investment in CCS technology and introduce emission standards for new coal-fired power stations, and promote green spaces and wildlife corridors to “halt the loss of habitats and restore biodiversity”.

Agreement has also been reached to allow continued Liberal Democrat opposite to new nuclear power plants, whilst permitting the government to “bring forward the national planning statement for ratification by Parliament so that new nuclear construction becomes possible”.

Further details on the arrangement can be found on the Liberal Democrat’s website.

Nick Clegg MP, leader of the Liberal Democrats, this afternoon addressed a packed audience at the Royal Society, laying out his party’s views on the importance of science, technology, engineering and maths. In a wide-ranging speech which lasted for approximately half an hour, Mr Clegg covered a range of topics; from early-years science and maths education to the use of independent scientific advice by the government. Mr Clegg’s speech was then followed by a high quality question and answer session.

Mr Clegg began his speech by congratulating the Royal Society on a diverse and exciting programme of events to celebrate their 350th anniversary year, stating that the Society represented one of the only bodies which has been influential historically and which continues to be so. His speech emphasised the importance of STEM training and STEM professionals in leading the UK out of recession and called for not just a ‘rebuild’ but a ‘redesign’ of the economy, built not just on the financial sector but on science, technology and innovation. Mr Clegg blamed the Labour Government for failing to capitalise on the success of UK research (with 1% of the world’s population and 8% of the world’s scientific publications) by translating this success into business opportunities.

As a key part of his speech, Mr Clegg made five pledges to the scientific community. According to Mr Clegg a Liberal Democrat government would;
1) Be honest about spending:
Mr Clegg emphasised that the Government’s current debt was not sustainable and that a period of fiscal contraction would have to occur in the years to come. He stated that STEM would be at the forefront of Liberal Democrat thinking in grappling with the economic situation.
2) Allocate funding to broad priorities:
A Liberal Democrat government would respect the ‘Haldane Principle’ but that government would be entitled to take strategic decisions based on broad priorities. ‘Impact’ as part of the Research Excellence Framework would be re-examined.
3) Reform education to increase scientific literacy:
One of Mr Clegg’s key points was the fundamental importance of early-years education in crystallising young people’s attitudes to STEM and take-up of STEM subjects later in life. A Liberal Democrat government would be committed to improving the quality of STEM tuition, with all Key Stage 4 students having the opportunity to take three sciences.
4) Uphold policy based on independent evidence:
Mr Clegg said that he understood the importance of independent scientific advice and that he supported the Prinicples for the Treatment of Independent Scientific Advice as submitted to the Government by Sense about Science. A debate was also necessary, he said, on the media’s communication of science and of the nuances of scientific discovery.
5) Immediately reform English libel laws:
Freedom to evaluate critically the work of others is fundamental to science, Mr Clegg said, and immediate reform is needed to make sure that the UK’s libel laws don’t stifle scientific debate and inquiry.

In response to questioning Mr Clegg confirmed that these five principles would be found in the Liberal Democrats’ manifesto. In response to other questions he reiterated his party’s commitment to abolishing tuition fees for university students, although acknowledged that money was not available for this at present, and reiterated his commitment to ‘lead with evidence’ the policy-making process. When questioned about how he would deal with a direct clash between the evidence (in this case, that eating less meat would be better for the climate) and politics (safeguarding farmers’ interests) Mr Clegg was pragmatic however, stating that ultimately he and his colleagues were politicians, representing the public. With many rural constituencies he said that it would be difficult in this case to make policy purely on the basis of this evidence. He hoped, he said, that a Liberal Democrat government would show ’sophistication’ in its approach to evidence-based policy-making.