Frequently Asked Questions

1. Who is behind this site?

Climate Election 2024’ is hosted by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at LSE and is overseen by a cross-party supervisory panel of trustee directors. Members of the supervisory panel are: Lord Deben, Conservative Party; Lady Helena Kennedy, Labour Party; Lord Teverson, Liberal Democrats; and Lord Wigley, Plaid Cymru.

2. Which political parties does this site cover?

During the 2024 general election campaign we covered candidates for the four parties in England and Wales that have committed to the UK reaching net zero by 2050 and who have held power in the Westminster- or Cardiff-based Governments since the Climate Change Act was passed in 2008, i.e. the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru. Following the general election, we are collecting information about all current MPs regardless of party, and all council candidates.  

3. How do I know that you are independent of any political party?

As described in the answer to question 1, our four trustee directors come from each of the four political parties covered in the 2024 General Election. As all are members of the House of Lords, none is eligible to be a candidate in any General Election and all take the Whip of their respective Parties. We have no interest in telling you how to vote, only to ensure you have information available to make an informed choice on candidates’ commitment to supporting the UK’s net zero target.

4. If I send you information, what will you do with it? 

Any information about the election candidates you send us will be anonymised – no statement we publish on the website will ever have your name associated with it. Please see the LSE privacy policy for further information.

5. What if the party I want to vote for is not included?

We encourage you to engage with your preferred party’s candidates similarly to how we suggest here.

6. How have you assessed candidates’ stance on climate?

Assessments on each candidate use a variety of sources, including public information from campaign materials, speeches or other written statements, and information provided by constituents from their interactions with candidates.

We have contacted all candidates to inform them about their entry and invite them to correct any inaccuracies. Where we have contacted a candidate but not received a response, the assessment given is marked with a asterisk (*). Where a candidate has engaged with us on their entry, this asterisk is absent.  

Any further information from those using this website will be welcome. If you see any information that is inaccurate, please let us know so we can address it. Email Climate.Election@lse.ac.uk.

Ideally, candidate entries should be used as the start of a conversation. The more voters engage with their candidates on the issue of climate change, the more they will understand that this is a topic people care about.

7. What is the Climate Change Act?

The Climate Change Act commits the UK government by law to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. You can read more about the Act here. Net zero is explained here.

8. When was each party in government?

The Labour Party was in government following the 1997 General Election until the 2010 General Election. Plaid Cymru entered government in 2007, forming the One Wales Government with Labour in the Welsh Assembly. The Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats were in a coalition government following the 2010 General Election. The Conservatives have been in Government since 2015. 

9. Can I not find the views of MPs or local election candidates in their Party’s manifesto?  

We are interested to know the views of the individual, not just their Party, and we want to foster engagement and dialogue with them around the topics of climate change and net zero.