Who is the greenest?

Opponents say Mr Cameron's Norway trip was a photo opportunity

Tomorrow David Cameron - shaking the Arctic snow off his boots - will be swapping huskies for hybrids when the Tory leader test drivers some cars which are claimed to be eco-friendly in his latest bid to prove that he's the greenest of our political leaders.

The escalating competition to look green is producing some interesting role reversals. Normally the Tories criticise Gordon Brown for putting up too many taxes. We now have the Conservatives criticising the Chancellor for not taxing enough. The Tories have seized on the findings of the Commons environmental audit committee that taxes on polluters and other environmental taxes have fallen as a proportion of taxation.

Stephen Ladyman was appointed a Transport Minister in 2005

Duty on petrol has been frozen since the fuel protests in 2000. And environmentalists complain that airlines pay no duty, VAT or climate change levy, even though flying is now the fastest growing source of greenhouse gases.

Andrew Rawnsley spoke to the Transport Minister, Stephen Ladyman.

Labour came to power pledging to cut car travel. Since then traffic has increased by 11 per cent and there are four and a half million more private cars. Does he accept that this is a policy which has failed?