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utILIty WeeK | 7th - 13th February 2014 | 9 Interview T he Conservative Party – for all its pre-election talk about its green ambitions (who can forget David Cameron's hug-a-husky trip to the Arctic?) – has not come across as the most pro-green political party since it became the senior partner in the coalition. Laura Sandys is one of the party's few champions of "green Conservatism" and she has been making an impact. She has presided over the opening of what was at the time the largest offshore windfarm in the world, the Thanet Offshore windfarm operated by Vattenfall, just off the Kent coast. Sandys is not only a proponent of windfarms – on and offshore – she is also an advocate of the green econ- omy and a member of the 2020 group, which has called for the Tories to make the green agenda central to its 2015 general election manifesto. But Sandys will not be there to usher in what she hopes will be a majority Conservative government with the green economy at its heart. In November, the Thanet South MP announced that she would not stand for re- election on 7 May 2015, and at the beginning of January, she stood down as parliamentary private secretary to her fellow green conservative, climate change minister Greg Barker. "It's very sad in many ways," she says, speaking to Utility Week in an exclusive interview. "But it's one of those things where you need to make some decisions and I'm not sure people realise I have to make a decision –not about 2015, but about 2020 – so it's seven years. "I need to ensure I have a little bit more flexibility – not more time – but more flexibility to deal with prob- lems. It's about balancing my work and personal life." But will Sandys' looming departure from mainstream politics weaken the green conservative cause? She assures me that won't be the case, and that the image of the Conservatives in relation to environmental issues is "a very black and white perception from the outside". "Within the party, I think there is a strong sense to renew the economy and try to reduce the volatility that imported fossil fuels create," she says. "I believe there is a clear majority in the party that are very concerned about climate change." However, there is one central issue that even the greenest of green Tories has to be aware of – the cost of living – and that is an area where the party appears to have a more united front. "We as Conservatives are united in ensuring the best value is there for the consumers," Sandys tells me with confidence. Her pre-Westminster role with consumer watchdog Which? lends her some extra authority. "We are very, very keen that the best value is delivered in terms of greening the economy and decarbonising." Achieving the best value for consumers and ensur- ing they do not waste money – or energy – is some- thing Sandys insists the government is pushing forward,