Sheffield incinerator: toxic crime scene

An analysis of votes cast in the local elections in Sheffield on May 2nd reveals that opposition to a new incinerator in the city may have swung two key wards from the Liberal Democrats to Labour. The swing resulted in the Liberal Democrats losing control of the city - a stark contrast to the situation in Hull where the Liberal Democrats were opposed to incineration and enjoyed massive electoral success. The poll analysis was conducted by Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace and is attached.

Commenting on the poll analysis, Mark Strutt, head of the incineration campaign at Greenpeace, said:

"It's very clear that the new incinerator at Bernard Rd was a significant factor in the Sheffield result. If the Sheffield Liberal Democrats had followed the line from their national office and opposed incineration they would still be in control of the city."

Mike Childs, head of the toxics campaign at Friends of the Earth, said:

"The proposal for an incinerator in Sheffield clearly influenced the outcome of the local elections. The Council clearly now has a duty to rethink its plans for a massive incinerator in Sheffield. People in Sheffield don't want incineration and certainly don't want to be the dustbin for the rest of South Yorkshire. There are other options and we hope the Council will begin to look at these seriously."

Poll analysis
Sheffield local election results - May 2002

Until 2 May 2002, the Liberal Democrats, who had more than half of the council seats, controlled Sheffield City Council. At the election, Labour took seven seats to become the largest party, through remained just short of an overall majority - the balance of seats is now Labour 43, Liberal Democrat 42 and Conservative 2.

There are good reasons for believing that the Liberal Democrats' support for a new waste incinerator at Bernard Rd in Sheffield cost them votes at the election. It may even have cost them control of the council. The evidence is set out below.

The Green vote
The Green Party stood in 13 wards, mostly in central and south Sheffield, and used their opposition to the new Bernard Rd incinerator as a central plank of their campaign. An anti-incinerator candidate also stood in the Beauchief ward. Green candidates gained between 2.5% of the votes cast (in Dore) and 17% (in Netherthorpe). On average, their candidates gained 8% of the votes cast - twice as many as previously. The anti-incinerator candidate gained 4% of the vote - despite standing only as an independent, and therefore not being identifiable as "anti-incinerator" on the ballot paper. See the spread of votes for green or anti-incinerator candidates here.

The doubling in the Green vote in Sheffield also needs to be seen in the context of falling Green votes across the country as a whole. The Green's lost councillors overall, including 5 in Oxford, and 2 in Hackney.


Key seats analysis
The Lib Dems lost 5 seats to Labour in the election. Labour also gained one vacant seat, and one from a retiring independent councillor. Had the Liberal Democrats held onto just one of the seats they lost to Labour, they would have had more councillors than Labour but been just short of an overall majority on the council. Holding onto two seats would have left them retaining overall control. The wards that changed hands are below.

Ward	Labour	Lib Dems	Conservative	Green	Other	Labour majority
Birley	2775	1723	282			1052
Heeley	1878	1476	229	496	186	402
Hillsborough	2019	1434	415	237	106	585
Intake	2213	1460	325	143		753
Norton	1714	1341	360	150		373
Owlerton	2137	365	207		54	1772
Walkley	1846	1735	208	471		111

The table above shows that in Walkley, had the Liberal Democrats attracted the support of less than a quarter of the people who voted Green, they would have kept the seat, and thus remained the largest party on the council.

In Heeley too, the Green vote exceeded the Lib Dems losing margin, though here around 80% of Greens would have been required to switch to the Liberal Democrats to save the seat.

In addition to missing out on these direct transfers, a strong anti-incinerator campaign could also have attracted support from the other parties as well, and encouraged some of the stay-at-home voters out to vote as well.

Comparisons with other councils
In Hull, Liberal Democrats campaigned against the Labour Council's decision to build an incinerator. In the election, the Liberal Democrats trounced Labour candidates, and became the biggest group on the council, following more than 40 years of a Labour controlled council.

Prior to the election, Labour held 44 seats, the Lib Dems 10 (there were also 2 Conservatives and 4 Independents). Following the vote, there were 29 Lib Dems and 24 Labour. Almost half of Labour held seats went to the Lib Dems.

Further information:
Contact:
The Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255 or
Friends of the Earth press office on 020 7566 1694

11 Greenpeace volunteers ended their occupation of Sheffield incinerator after protecting the people of the city from polluting gases for 3 days

Offer to pay for Sheffield waste plan rebuffed by Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats were dragged into a national row over incineration today because of Sheffield City Council's determination to build a new waste burner. The national Lib Dems have been branded as hypocrites and electoral opportunists by both Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace after the party tried to face in both directions on the controversial issue of burning rubbish. The national Lib Dems claim to be in favour of a moratorium on the building of new incinerators but in fact the Lib Dem controlled Sheffield City Council is trying to construct a massive waste burner against fierce local opposition.

To make matters worse, the Lib Dems have frequently crowed over their victory at the Guildford by-election which was largely won on the basis of the Lib Dem candidate's opposition to a proposed incineration scheme. Malcolm Bruce, the Lib Dem environment spokesman, has previously said that: "If the Government need any proof of the potency of incineration as a political issue, it is provided by my hon. Friend the member for Guildford (Sue Doughty). Guildford has a Liberal Democrat Member mainly because of the strength of feeling against the incinerator that is being proposed for the area." [Malcolm Bruce, MP, House of Commons, 11/12/01]

Stephen Tindale, Executive Director of Greenpeace, said:
"The Liberal Democrats don't seem to have any principles when it comes to waste management and will say anything they think gains them electoral advantage. Their call for a moratorium on incineration is a hollow sham. It's simply unacceptable for the Lib Dems to lecture other political parties on the environment and then fail to apply those principles in places which they actually control."

Charles Secrett, Executive Director of Friends of the Earth, said:
"The choice between incinerators or recycling in Sheffield is a litmus test of the Lib Dems' environmental and community commitments. It is the height of hypocrisy to have pro-recycling and anti-incineration policies, but then do the opposite in councils which they actually control."

Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace wrote to Charles Kennedy, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, asking that his party resolve its confusion over environmental policy but with no effect. Kennedy refused to ask Sheffield Lib Dems to fall into line with national policy and remains unapologetic. FOE and Greenpeace have also offered to pay for national waste experts to develop an alternative waste strategy for Sheffield which would avoid incineration without increasing the cost to ratepayers. This offer has also been in effect rebuffed.

Notes for editors:
1. The current Lib Dem national policy on incineration is to implement a moratorium on the building of new waste incinerators. For instance, Malcolm Bruce MP, the Lib Dem environment spokesman, has said that:
"Four simple steps would go a long way to bringing waste removal into harmony with the environment. A National Recycling Programme must be sustained, while tougher action is needed on reducing the actual amount of waste produced. If landfill tax was reformed and a moratorium called on all new incinerators, Britain would be well on the way to joining the ranks of green European nations." [Lib Dem press release 21/11/01].

"In reality, the danger is that even accommodating incineration will destroy the beginnings of a real waste reduction strategy. A moratorium on new incinerators would be thus constructive for that reason" [Malcolm Bruce, MP, House of Commons, 11/12/01]

2. Sheffield City Council has been controlled by the Lib Dems for some years. The council has recently signed a contract with the French multi-national Onyx to build a new incinerator in the heart of Sheffield which will burn at least two thirds of the city's rubbish. The proposals are being opposed by a broad alliance of local people.

3. Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace wrote to Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy offering to pay for a new study of Sheffield's waste problems by Britain's leading waste management experts. The intention was that a new strategy would be drawn up that would meet all of Sheffield's legal requirements while avoiding incineration and not increasing the overall cost to rate payers. The one condition made by Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace for this work to go ahead was that the Council did not proceed any further with the incinerator project until the study was completed.

The Lib Dems have rebuffed this offer and suggested that Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace contribute to a 'consultation' exercise being undertaken by the council. The following points are salient:

1. the consultation exercise was launched AFTER the contract was signed for a new incinerator and has no bearing on whether Sheffield burns its rubbish or not
2. several key officers of the council have not even attended the consultation exercise
3. Greenpeace have already attempted to contribute to the exercise but given up because it is clear that it is not being take seriously by the council and will generate no useful output.

 

Further information:
Contact:
Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255