Cable: Conservatives show "complete lack of ambition" on plastics

The Conservatives launch their 25-year environment plan tomorrow. Despite being heavily trailed to the media, the proposals are expected to be limited. Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable said:  "The Conservatives should be eliminating all avoidable plastic waste now - a target of 2042 beggars belief. They ramped up expectations only to disappoint. "The Conservatives have shown a complete lack of ambition. Notably, they have failed to deal with the excessive waste of coffee cups through the levy proposed by the Liberal Democrats and recently embraced by a powerful group of cross-party MPs. "This is only a small step rather than the leap that is needed. Even the extension of the 5p tax on plastic bags only closed exemptions unnecessarily introduced by the Conservative Party."