The Conservative Party’s Jo Barker wants to make Hall Green greener

• May. 5 by Rachel Simmonite (1)

Conservative Party candidate Jo Barker, is one of the dark horses in the hotly contested Birmingham Hall Green constituency. An interview was conducted with her at the Moseley Exchange to find out about her own views on the environment, as well as what the Conservative Party plans to do if they win the election.

Having had a face-lift since the 2005 election due to the boundary changes, Labour are currently in residence there but their main competition comes from the Liberal Democrats and the RESPECT Party.

Jo’s academic background is in environmental issues having done her undergraduate degree in Geography followed by her PhD in Sedimentology. She has also previously worked with the Conservative Party on the 2000 Countryside and Right of Way Act.

When asked about the environmental issues involving the local area including the current ones that St Mary’s Church have had with solar panels, she responded with:

“It’s a case of conservation versus conservation; I can understand why the Victorian Society has said no to the plans. Solar panels can be really effective and they’re not as expensive as you might think if you start from scratch. The roof of the church is a big enough space that solar panels could easily produce extra energy that could then be used to help power other buildings in the Moseley area.”

Green energy seems to be a focus for the Conservative Party, particularly in the home.

“We want to implement something that we call the Green Deal,” said Barker. “It’s a £6500 grant to make sustainable energy production affordable. It will help home owners be able to afford good quality wall insulation for their houses which will lower the costs of energy bills in the future.”

The workplace isn’t left out either as Jo said she would support more car sharing schemes in Birmingham along with the creation of faster broadband internet lines so more people can work from home, cancelling out the need for the daily commute.

She also wants more cycle routes to be created to enable the growing number of people cycling to work and for pleasure to travel more safely. It would also help to build a culture of cycling in the city, something she feels it is lacking.

With other plans in the pipeline including tree planting schemes, cutting back on waste production and building and maintaining flood defensives it sounds as though the Conservatives really have put green issues ahead of their main rivals.