Speech to "Yorkshire says NO to Fracking Demo" - York 30th July

I’m Andrew Cooper, a Councillor in Huddersfield and the Green Party’s National Energy Spokesperson.

I was in Northallerton when the Kirby Misperton Fracking Application was being considered. The evidence was poured over for 2 days and North Yorkshire County Council were well prepared. They set up 2 enclosed areas outside County Hall in Northallerton both were considerately provided with Portaloos. One area was set aside for the Protestors and another area was set aside for the Fracking supporters. Now I’m pretty sure that no one used the Portaloos on the Fracking supporters side due to the simple fact that there was no one there to make use of these facilities. What did happen in Northallerton to the shame of the County Council was the decision to allow Fracking near the village of Kirby Misperton. The decision was met with disbelief. Of course given the same evidence as a Councillor with years of planning experience I would have voted against.

On my own Council, Kirklees, I am proposing an addition to our Local Plan documents so when 3^rd Energy or Cuadrilla put an application in our area,  to extract shale gas they will have to demonstrate that their application will not result in a net addition to CO2 emissions. Now I don’t think that’s possible but at a time when we have the 14^th or 15^th highest global temperatures ever, I believe they should have to prove it as a part of any planning application.

Now a word for my Labour opposite number Lisa Nandy MP the Labour Opposition Energy and Climate Change Secretary (Is she still? I don’t know) Her response to the Kirby Misperton decision was this,

“ We need robust rules to offer communities reassurance that the environmental risks will be properly managed.”

Labour doesn’t get it. Even if you trusted the companies reassurances, even if you regulated  it to somehow or other make it safe, you still cannot manage the environmental risks of extracting and burning more fossil fuels when we need to keep those fuels in the ground.  Our local and global environments simply cannot afford to let fracking happen. It must not happen.

The alternatives to fracking are available now. Energy efficiency, insulation are the way we should be ensuring our energy security, by making homes warmer and reducing energy demand, but Government has cut funding massively for these measures while keeping energy demand high and reducing costs for those poor hard pressed energy companies.

So we have the wrong energy priorities from Government, a fundamental misunderstanding of the problem with fracking from the opposition. So it comes down to us. We are the people and we are the ones who are going to have to stand tall, to speak truth to power. Simply being right is not enough. We must challenge robustly every application, every proposal, exercise our right to peaceful civil disobedience and protest, refuse to pay fines. Make a nuisance of ourselves.

2016 has been a bloody awful year so far. Friends let us come together, let us be united and let’s tell them NO Fracking Way!

ENDS

DECC decked!

There is a perverse logic to the abolition of the Department of Energy and Climate Change. Since 2010 when David Cameron famously declared, in the DECC building, that his would be the 'Greenest Government Ever' there has been a constant reduction in financial support  for measures to address climate change. We have had catastrophic reductions in Feed In Tariff rates for renewable technologies and for energy efficiency through cuts to the Energy Company Obligation. The Zero Carbon Homes standard due to be introduced this year for new homes was dropped by George Osborne. Planning rules for onshore wind turbines have been made so restrictive that they are as good as a ban. One of the few drivers that remained for investment in renewables was the UK being a signatory to the EU Renewable Energy Directive which required us to produce 15% of our total energy from renewable sources by 2020. Even though many of our EU partners had higher targets that they were exceeding the UK was shamefully set to fail to reach our 15% renewables target. Then Brexit happened and the threat of the UK being fined by the EU for failing to achieve a target we had voluntarily signed up to began to diminish. With a lack of commitment to energy efficiency and renewables in the UK Govt it is becoming increasingly difficult to see how we will be able to achieve our carbon reduction commitments made in Paris last December. With the significance of DECC being diminished as a direct result of Government policy the abolition of the department is consistent with the Conservatives ambivalence to action to address carbon emissions. To all intents and purposes the Conservatives are Climate Change Deniers in all but name.

We know that Government will say that addressing climate change has been 'mainstreamed' into an important Government Department but it has in fact being sidelined with no Cabinet minister acting as 'champion' following a decline in financial and policy support over the last 6 years. The irony is that one of the Ministers who managed that decline, Amber Rudd has been promoted to Home Secretary which as we know is only a short step to Number 10. Who would have thought the 'Aristocracy Advisor' on the film 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' could have come so far.

My 7 Priorities as Deputy Leader

Supporting Local Parties to win elections

Winning elections at all levels of Government is important to convey our ideas and to put them into practice. We need to value the people who work on the ground to make our Target to Win Strategy a reality. We also need to celebrate good practice and electoral success much more in the Party to build a culture of contesting elections professionally and to' demonstrate that we can win to a wider proportion of the electorate. Andrew has organised successful election campaigns in Kirklees for over 20 years. As a Target to Win Pioneer he will be a strong and informed advocate for those needing support for their election campaigns.

Giving a voice to the Regions

Some good progress has been made through the appointment of Regional Campaigns Coordinators to help build the capacity and capability of the Green Party at the local and Regional level. The Party needs a perspective in the Leadership Team that can speak with experience and authority from outside London and the South East. As a Councillor From Yorkshire with 17 years experience as a Local Cllr, Andrew is ideally placed to fulfil that role.

Involving members

An active political party needs to be able to respond quickly to changing events. We should also ensure we involve our Party bodies and members in strategic decisions as much as possible. The Green Party needs to avoid situations where our position on key issues are made by pronouncement. One very practical issue Andrew would pursue if elected as Deputy Leader is to initiate a consultation with local parties on 'Progressive Alliances' asking for views and opinions to feedback to relevant Party bodies so your views are taken into account.

Widening our reach.

The Green Party's support is often perceived as being white and middle class. There are some good examples around the UK where that stereotype is challenged due to dedicated work by local Parties but we need to do more. Andrew is already working closely with groups like Muslim Engagement and Development MEND to challenge Islamaphobia and the Governments ill conceived 'Prevent Strategy'. As someone who has been elected to an ethnically diverse area of Huddersfield Andrew has strong links to community organisations representing BME communities at the local and national level. We also need to show how we are relevant to the many communities who are suffering most from our deteriorating services. We need to demonstrate that Green policies provide workable solutions addressing the need for secure affordable housing, worthwhile rewarding employment and ensuring the people with the greatest needs have good support and good services.

The benefits of a Councillor as our Deputy Leader

The Leadership of the Green Party is likely to have a strong Parliamentary focus. As Deputy Leader and an experienced Local Councillor Andrew would provide knowledge of the impact of Government policy on the ground. Andrew will provide practical input based on the real life experience of implementing policy at the local level. Elected politicians bring an additional degree of credibility to our Leadership Team whether they are an MP or a Councillor.

Working with others to address Climate Change

Developing workable plans and policies to address climate change should be a top priority for the Green Party. As Deputy Leader Andrew would forge stronger relations with NGOs and businesses that share our objectives to build our credibility and provide a robust challenge to Government and other Parliamentary parties on practical action to achieve the Paris Climate targets and beyond. Andrew has worked for over 20 years in the energy efficiency and renewable energy sector and has strong connections with key organisations.

'Progressive Alliances'

The idea of a Progressive Alliances is on the Green Party's agenda as a Strategy being considered in the run up to the next General Election, whether that is in 2020 or possibly much sooner. To be successful a Progressive Alliance will need to have a popular programme that can draw support across a large proportion of the population. It will need to have more broadly based policies than being simply about achieving Electoral Reform. If it is to have wide appeal we will need to demonstrate that Green policies can provide jobs, tackle climate change address poverty and provide secure and affordable homes. Acheiving policies which reflect Green Party values will need to be a key part of any deal. Andrew is a skilled and experienced negotiator who has delivered Green policies on the ground on a Council that has been hung for 17 years.