I've now read the Green Alliance report...

Having now read the Green Alliance report, I think the blame lies mainly with the writer of their Press Release and also trying too hard to seem even handed in the actual report. Whilst it is scathing in places about the other parties, this is all it could find negative to say about the LibDems:

"We have not identified any specific low points where the Liberal Democrats have taken an anti-environment position over the past twelve months. But we are concerned by the decline in profile and priority given to environmental issues, from the party that has so often led the way. With the exception of Nick Clegg’s announcement on energy, the Liberal Democrats have not been making the political weather on the environment as they have done in the past. We need the party to be more visible over the next twelve months and to set the pace on environmental issues, particularly in the run-up to the next general election."

Hmm, well, I don't think they've really helped in making the party "more visible over the next twelve months".

Also, as if to illustrate the point, the report has pretty graphics illustrating the balance of environmental "highs" and "lows" of each party. Both the Conservatives and Labour have more lows than highs, whereas we are distincly top-heavy with only one "low": "LibDem Leadership on the environment wanes"!

However, whilst the press release does mention some of our positives and those of the Conservatives (Cameron made a speech, "the environment is quite important, wot!", yeah well done), it starts by saying how all the parties are failing and has a quote from Stephen Hale, director of Green Alliance:

"None of the three main parties are currently showing the vision and courage to prepare the UK for the challenges ahead."

It then goes on to bulletpoint the failings of the three parties. Again our "failing" is derisory, "Nick Clegg has not yet set the pace", woah!

However this is enough for lazy (and to be fair, busy) journalists to write their "plague on all their houses" story.

If the Green Alliance had intended to raise the debate about climate change and pressure politicians or all parties to change, they have singularly failed. However, maybe they would tell you that if they had released it more accurately it wouldn't have even been made into a story?