The CPF is a national Party Group that gives members the opportunity to discuss the major policy challenges facing Britain. With almost 250 active groups across the country, a fantastic voluntary team and strong professional support from CCHQ, the CPF has a vital role at the heart of the Conservative Party. With a direct line to the Prime Minister's Policy Board, its members have a real say in the direction our Party is taking.

Modern, effective policy-making is characterised, among other features, by open and evidence-based idea generation that is innovative, flexible and creative.  The Conservative Policy Forum is the setting within the Party that enables Members to participate in this process.

The Conservative Policy Forum:

• develops and advances Conservative ideas and policies within the Party and in Government for the benefit of the whole nation;
• creates regular opportunities for all members, regardless of age or location, to discuss the challenges facing the country and to have real influence on Party policy;
• champions Conservative policies locally and nationally so as to support the election of candidates at every level of government who will implement a Conservative policy agenda.

The regular cycle of national CPF discussion papers and additional local policy CPF meetings offer the space for openness and creativity with respect to long-term macro-policy development. Events reported by the news, however, often present short-term opportunities in areas of micro-policy to which it would also be beneficial to create a similar space. In response to this need, the CPF is launching a micro-policy initiative.

If you wish to take part in CPF please register online via the website, www.conservativepolicyforum.com/join.

We are meeting on Wednesday, 11th April 2018 at 7.30pm to discuss the latest brief, Conservative Conservation. Call today to book your place on 01829 733243 or e-mail us, office@eddisburyconservatives.co.uk. Discussion papers can be found on the CPF website or by clicking the attachment at the bottom of this page. The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP said, “Respecting nature’s intrinsic value and making sure we are wise stewards of our natural world is critical if we are to leave the environment in a better state than we inherited it. Our Environment Plan sets out how over the next 25 years we will radically reduce the waste that is choking oceans and rivers, cleanse our air of toxic pollutants and create new habitats for our most precious wildlife to thrive.” 

Questions for discussion

1. Climate change: How might we better cultivate the resources, policies and people that will allow us to mitigate and adapt to change?
2. Renewable energy generation: How might we transition more quickly away from an over-dependency on non-renewable fossil fuels?
3. Air quality: What policies should we enact to reduce harmful pollutants?
4. Plastics: What policies should we enact to reduce the amount of plastic waste and increase recycling?
5. Trees: How can we encourage more tree planting?
6. Farming and fishing: What should farming and fishing policies look like outside of the European Union?
7. Brexit: How might we use the opportunity that leaving the EU provides to strengthen and enhance our environmental protections?
8. Global leadership: How else might we further build on our global leadership and existing commitment to international development so as to create international coalitions to tackle particular environmental challenges? Or should we be focusing more on improving our own country’s environmental quality?
9. In what ways should the Government harness market mechanisms and regulation—from auctions and subsidies, to taxes and bans—to support best practice and to encourage greater investment in environmentally-friendly goods and services?
10. Who pays? How might your proposals be paid for?