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Introduction
The environment was one of David Cameron's signature issues underpinning his modernization project for the Conservative Party. The selection of this 'Vote Blue, Go Green' strategy was underpinned by the widely-held assumption that the environment is a valence issue, characterized by a consensus across parties and the electorate about the need to protect the environment (Dunlap, 1995; Johns et al , 2009; Clarke et al , 2011). Party competition over the environment would therefore be about performance: the perceived competence of the parties to deliver environmental protection policies. However, in this article we argue that although in opposition the environment did operate as a valence issue and contributed positively to the modernization project, after the Conservatives entered government the impact of the green strategy was shaped - and often undermined - by the transformation of climate change into a positional issue, characterized by growing disagreement between political actors and the wider electorate over this issue.
The 'Vote Blue, Go Green' strategy accrued some benefits in opposition because it was a time of relatively high public concern about the environment, particularly climate change. The initial green rhetoric and symbolic gestures were soon reinforced by policy substance. Indeed, Cameron's support for progressive climate policy helped stimulate a cross-party 'competitive consensus' over the need for radical climate policy that contributed positively to the Labour government introducing the path-breaking Climate Change Act 2008 , followed by several policies first proposed by the Conservatives, including reforms to air passenger duties, smart meters and feed-in tariffs (Carter and Jacobs, 2014). Subsequently, there was little difficulty agreeing a progressive environmental agenda with the Liberal Democrats for the coalition government that built on this legacy (Laws, 2010). Several important environmental commitments were implemented. However, it soon transpired that environmental policies were an area of recurrent tension between the parties in the coalition and, significantly, a major source of discontent on the Conservative backbenches, particularly in the wider context of austerity and the need to prioritize economic growth. Gradually, the apparent consensus began to break down. Conservative backbenchers, urged on by the right-wing press, adopted an increasingly partisan approach to climate change, and opinion polls revealed clear partisan divisions on climate change in the wider electorate. Consequently, with Cameron failing to provide...