Partisan politics put UK climate change policy at risk-minister

Britain's efforts to combat climate change are in danger of disarray because "partisan politics" may scare off investors, Energy Minister Ed Davey said on Thursday. Davey, a member of the junior coalition partner Liberal Democrats, criticised both Prime Minister David Cameron's ruling Conservatives and the opposition Labour party for endangering plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and encourage investment in cleaner energy sources, Reuters reported. "If we are to persuade companies to make long-term investments in Britain's low carbon future, they need to see that there is a political consensus on energy and climate change policy that rises above the normal everyday partisan politics," he said in a speech. The intervention fits a strategy by the Liberal Democrats to differentiate themselves from their political rivals before a general election in May 2015. The party's support has dwindled since the last election, with some voters unhappy that they backtracked on core policies. Latest polls give them 10 percent of the popular vote, down from 23 percent in 2010.