ECO - Seeing Red over "Green Crap"

2010 - David Cameron announces the "Greenest Government Ever"


It's difficult to know where to begin with the complete shambles that is the Government's policy changes on domestic energy efficiency and the Energy Company Obligation in particular. Where I will start is on the subject of  'policy stability'. Last year I was part of Government delegation to Germany. The mission was to get German companies to invest in the UK energy efficiency and renewables sector. One of the messages that came back to us from German business was about the uncertain policy landscape in the UK for renewables and energy efficiency support generally and that this was seriously discouraging inward investment. It was a fair point and difficult to answer because it was true

The energy efficiency sector is a very changeable business to work in. The first stage of the £1.3 Billion/year Energy Company Obligation has barely begun. Companies delivering schemes are still ironing out issues with the rules and regulations which govern it and trying to develop, design and deliver workable projects which save carbon and energy for domestic householders. Some companies which were delivering energy efficiency schemes and measures have shut up shop unable to make a go of it, others have found ways to make ECO fly despite the bureaucratic nature of complying with its regulations. Now huge funding cuts to ECO have created another hurdle to overcome.

The large price rises from the utilities had very little to do with the Energy Company Obligation. Some estimates put only 1/6th of the increase as being attributable to green levies yet the energy companies, 'The Sun' and other right wing media were successful at getting the focus of debate on energy bills to be focussed on it. There was strong speculation that Ed Miliband's call for an 18 month energy price freeze might actually have sparked this round of big bill increases with utilities banking our money earlier for the 'rainy day' which might be the first year and a half of an incoming Labour Government. A  Government at ease with its own policies would have recognised the misdirection and misinformation from the press and its own right wing for what it was and addressed it. The cut to funding itself was bad enough but the message it sent out to the energy efficiency industry on its lack of resolve was worse. Imagine you were a company that was considering investing significant sums of money in new plant and equipment to insulate homes. Within the space of a few weeks the whole policy landscape supporting your industry has changed. Companies don't invest, homes don't get insulated and it is the fuel poor who lose out.

As is common when introducing new policies particularly bad ones they are now badged as 'reforms', I guess this is 'reformed' as in "I dropped a jelly on the floor and my 5 year old tried to 're-form' it". It never turns out looking too good. One element of the reform is the new £500million financial incentive for new homeowners to insulate their homes. Several issues with this. People who are purchasing new homes are far less likely to be fuel poor as they have found enough money for a deposit and have means to pay a mortgage. So this is not a scheme targeted at the people who need it most. How long will it take to spend the £500million on energy efficiency measures in a housing market which is hardly very buoyant. You almost think that this is part of the plan. To give a headline big price tag on a measure which is going to take forever to spend and therefore not be that big a burden for the Treasury. All the illusion of action required for a goverment statement with none of the inconvenience and expense of actual activity.

The Energy Company Obligation changes are focused on the Carbon Emission Reduction Obligation (CERO) element of ECO. This was originally supposed to subsidise the Green Deal to make it work but seeing as the Green Deal is a bit of a flop there was a lot of brass sloshing round that needed using so Energy Companies could hit their targets. This funding went on a variety of different projects but as social housing was not eligible for the Fuel Poverty focussed part of ECO many social housing funded projects could well be funded through CERO. Now CERO is being cut as is the funding for solid wall insulation this is more likely to disproportionately impact on projects to improve the homes of social housing tenants on lower incomes.

What is really frustrating about all this is that the Energy Company Obligation as it stood before the cuts was difficult enough and it lacked the ambition and vision we need for improving the energy performance of the nations housing stock. Ultimately saving households millions of pounds a year, avoiding unnecessary excess winter deaths and rapidly reducing our carbon emissions is not a priority for the 'greenest government ever'. Perhaps the clue to trying to make sense of all this is in the word 'obligation'. Obligations are things which people, and in this case energy companies, are morally or legally bound to do. Obligation does not require enthusiasm, belief or passion, that should be the role of government, but instead they have been obliged to set that nonsense aside in the name of expediency, bluster and populism.

The Restoration? When are the poor going to get their money back?

not that I ever did mind!

I got an unsolicited email circular from Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg today asking me if I wanted a £100 tax cut. He wasn't actually offering it but just asking me if I wanted it. Very much a 'jam tomorrow' offer This apparently would be my reward for coping with the suffering caused by their austerity programme. Nick says,


"Think of it as a workers’ bonus.  The British people have lived with austerity for three years. Your sacrifices are making it possible for us to fix the economy. This is your recovery and you deserve to feel the benefits – without delay."


  The message from Government is that we are now turning a corner and that 'growth' and a recovery  is supposedly happening. The problem is for many that this 'good news' is not relevant to them. Many of the people who have suffered the most are those for whom a £100 tax cut is utterly meaningless. The people who have had a bedroom tax imposed or who have lost disability benefits due to the punitive ATOS regime. For many of these people a £100 tax cut will never have any relevance at all. The justification for cutting peoples benefits was supposedly not at all ideological or a 'war on the poor' but because 'we're all in it together'. If that situation has changed and the Lib Dems can offer goodies shouldn't it be the poorest who benefit first?

Of course the right wing media would say its 'our taxes' that pay for these benefits but that ignores the fact that many people have worked and contributed taxes thoughout their lives and that many cannot find work because of their disability or because the work simply isn't there.

With thousands of public sector workers around the country about to become unemployed because of government cuts it seems crazy that the Lib Dems are floating the idea of tax reductions. It has all the hallmarks of a cynical gimmick and is not the behavior you would expect from a responsible party of government but then that is the Liberal Democrats for you.

Will Labour save Golcar Library?

The Labour Candidate in the Golcar By Election is saying he is campaigning to save Golcar Library.

 With £129million of Kirklees cuts coming through from the Lib Dem Conservative Government then cuts to local Library services will be back on the agenda. The question Golcar electors need to ask Labour canvassers directly is, "I know that the Labour Candidate says he supports the retention of Golcar Library but does that mean that the Kirklees Labour Party Policy and therefore the Kirklees Labour Cabinet  support saving Golcar Library?"

In my experience Labour Candidates, in particular wards, are sometimes given permission to take a particular stance on an important issue which is not necessarily the same as the policy adopted by Labour on the Council. Its what is left out of election literature which can lead to people being misled.

PRESS RELEASE - Give MPs Fuel Expenses to Food Banks say Green Party

Huddersfield Methodist Mission - Home of  our local food bank 'The Welcome Centre'

Green Party Energy Spokesperson, Councillor Andrew Cooper has called on MPs to donate the money they have claimed for gas and electricity on second homes to be donated to their local  Food Banks

Councillor Cooper said.

"The news that 300+ MPs are claiming expenses for gas and electricity costs on their second homes has gone down particularly badly with many people at a time when energy costs are rising by an average of an inflation busting 9%. MPs from Labour, Conservatives and the Lib Dems have all claimed this perk including Huddersfield Labour MP Barry Sheerman and the Tory MP for Dewsbury Simon Reevell . For you and I, we would simply have to pick up the costs of paying for our fuel bills out of our own pockets so its clearly an allowance that needs to be abolished to give MPs a greater appreciation of how difficult it is for many to pay for rising fuel costs. I do believe there is a way that these MPs can redeem themselves in the short term and that is by donating all the money them have claimed for fuel in their second homes to their local Food banks. In this way they can direct the public money they have claimed away from those people who really don’t need it  to the people who need it the most"

Golcar By Election - What's pink and hangs from a lamp post?

Pink, deceptive and hanging from a lamp post

What's pink, deceptive and hangs on a lamp post? Well it's these pink posters on streets around the Golcar Ward where coincidentally a Council By Election is to be held on November 21st.

The posters say in big bold words 'Stop Labour's Gridlock'. If you look at some really small writing at the top you'll see a line indicating it is part of the Lib Dem election campaign. So though it looks pink it is in fact yellow! It also looks like it is part of some sort of community campaign (which it is not) and there is no indication of what party it represents. It is clearly deceptive, cynical and wholly negative.It is clearly the start of some contrived campaign that the Lib Dems will run during the election to drum up support.

You can imagine when the Lib Dems were dreaming up this idea that they thought it was a really clever thing to do by pretending to run a non partisan community campaign against the party they regard as their principal opponent. The problem for them is that people aren't stupid and they can spot when they are being manipulated. It will backfire on them.

I'm no fan of the Labour Party, but if I am going to criticise them I will do it openly on literature bearing the  name of the Party I represent. If the Lib Dems are going to be so deceptive in their election campaigns why should we trust them if they are elected? Actually we know they can't be trusted in Government with pledge after pledge being broken such as backtracking on no rise in Student Tuition Fees, opposing nuclear energy and privatisation of the NHS.

If they behave so cynically in their election campaigns the they deserve to be treated cynically by the electorate.

PRESS RELEASE - Dan Greenwood selected as Green Candidate in Golcar By Election

Dan Greenwood Golcar's Green Candidate and Cllr Andrew Cooper

The Greens have selected a local music teacher as its candidate for the forthcoming Golcar By-Election. Dan Greenwood is 41 lives in Longwood and owns a business, ‘The Boom Rooms’ based in Milnsbridge which provides rehearsal and recoding facilities to a range of local musicians.

Dan has been a member of the Green Party for 8 years and joined because,

“there was nothing  out there in mainstream politics which appealed to me. The Greens offer a principled alternative that works for social and environmental justice. By Elections are always an opportunity for local people to vote for something different from their usual party allegiances so I’m looking forward to this election campaign”

Dan is a strong supporter of the Red and Green Club in Milnsbridge and has helped organise and performed at a benefit at the club recently. He is a keen cyclist and runner and has recently completed his 50^th Park Run at Greenhead Park.

Dan has a music degree from Huddersfield University and is a qualified teacher. He was brought up and educated in Huddersfield and has 3 children who attend local schools.

Councillor Andrew Cooper, Leader of the Greens on Kirklees Council, said

“it is great to have Dan as our Candidate in this important By-Election with his strong local connections and commitment to the community he lives in. There is a real opportunity here for the people of Golcar , Milnsbridge, Cowlersley and Longwood to reject the local Party machines and to back a Candidate who is independent  of them.  The Greens have a strong track record in Kirklees with 5 Green Party Councillors elected. It would be marvellous to have Dan as our 6^th.”

Contacts

Candidate - Dan Greenwood – 07837 760425   

Agent – Cllr Andrew Cooper – 07721 348619        andrew.cooper@kirklees.gov.uk