Cabinet’s green split

There’s a fun but revealing story in the FT today about a row within the Cabinet about what kind of cars they should all be driven round in. The split is between those who favour Ministers travelling in the eco-friendly Toyota Prius and those who think it is important that they use a car made in Britain. John Hutton, the business secretary, is in the British camp along with two of Gordon’s closest allies, Ed Balls and Jack Straw. While on the green side of the fence are Ruth Kelly, the Transport Secretary, David Miliband and Hilary Benn—the past and present environment secretaries. 

On the one hand, this can be seen as a simple turf war. But it does go to a more serious point about whether the cabinet is more committed to cutting carbon emissions or trying to support British-based manufacturing. The side which Brown eventually comes down on will give us a little window into his thinking on this.