Labour attack chameleon Dave

Labour has made Dave the chameleon the star of their party political broadcasts

Tuesday, 18, Apr 2006 12:00

David Cameron's "vote blue, go green" slogan for the local elections has backfired somewhat after Labour made 'Dave the chameleon' the star of their political broadcasts.

The Witney MP has made the environment a key plank of his leadership of the Conservative party and at today's launch of the final stage of their manifesto for next month's elections, green issues were once again at the forefront.

However, the launch of Dave, a friendly reptile who rides a bicycle and will appear on TV screens for the first time this evening, is a direct attempt to undermine his efforts to change the party in the style of his "modern, compassionate Conservatism".

Dave the chameleon will turn a different political colour at whim, "only tell people what they want to hear" – something Labour says has so far fared him well – and fans can download his antics as a screensaver, ringtone or mobile phone background.

Speaking ahead of today's launch, Mr Cameron admitted that the Tories have yet to come up with any major policies on the environment, other than a cross-party statement with the Lib Dems among others calling for annual carbon emissions cutting targets.

But he insisted that Conservative councils up and down the country were "really making progress on environmental issues" – they generally have cleaner streets, lower levels of alcohol and vehicle crime and come out top in the recycling league tables.

"The point about these local elections, they are local and people should vote on local issues, but at the local level you can make a real difference on the environment and if you vote blue you'll go green," Mr Cameron told Today.

The Tory leader is heading to Norway later this week to see for himself the impact of global warming, and when questioned whether it sent out a good message to be flying around the world talking about carbon emissions, he insisted that it missed the point.

"The truth about climate change and global warming is that we'll only make progress if we recognise we have a shared responsibility, that everyone has got to play a role from individuals, to the smallest district council, to the largest government, to international action," he said.

However, Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell was unimpressed, insisting: "Global posturing is no substitute for local action. The Liberal Democrats remain the only party seriously committed to tackling climate change."

Dave the chameleon, meanwhile, is continuing his bicycle journey and can be visited at www.davethechameleon.com.