Ed Milliband in Brighton: My Remarks

Mar

2009

Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, visited Brighton to talk to local people. In a spirit of 'radical transparency' I thought I'd share the introductory remarks I made at the event:

Good evening and, (even though it is freezing cold outside!) a very warm welcome to our event with the Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. I would like to thank Ed for taking the time to come and visit us in Brighton this evening.

I would also like to thank the Brighton and Hove Fabian Society who have kindly supported this event.

As some of you may be aware, David Lepper MP is retiring at the next election. I am Nancy Platts and I am standing to be the next Labour MP for Brighton Pavilion.

I invited Ed to come to Brighton because I know how important climate change is to you and I wanted to give you the opportunity to meet him.

Tonight we have many different organisations represented, just to mention a few – we have Brighton and Hove Transition Energy Group, Friends of the Earth, Bricycles, Simpol, Environmental Protection UK, lots of trade union representatives and I’m very pleased to see students from Varndean College Politics Society with us once again.

I would also like to welcome those from other political parties who have joined us this evening because it is important to have an open and honest debate and I am sure that Ed will be keen to listen to feedback on current policy.

For me, politics is about bringing people together to discuss issues and learn from one another – and I want to listen to what you have to say this evening so I will try to get in as many questions as I can.

First of all I want to tell you why I became involved in politics ….

I’ve campaigned in the trade union movement for publicly owned railways and better employment rights and in the voluntary sector for better maternity services, affordable child care and an end to child poverty and fuel poverty. It has always been my passion to tackle inequality and this is my driving force.

I moved into politics because I wanted to continue representing people, particularly those who felt they had no voice within our democratic system. And I am standing for Parliament because I want to represent people in Westminster, where the decisions are being taken on our behalf.

The Government have made parents and children the new frontier of a modern welfare state. Whether through financial help via tax credits, new facilities like Sure Start or better parental leave, we have made genuine support for families central to our policies.

People in Brighton are concerned about the economic downturn and it is the job of the Labour Government to demonstrate that we can continue to take steps to see us through a very difficult period. We must also demonstrate that we are on the side of the millions of lower and middle income people who expect a Labour Government to represent their interests. I was pleased with the new tax rates for higher earners; this is a very welcome step from Government, although I would like to see us go even further.

I am an advocate of greater rights for people at work, and in the last few years there have been a number of improvements, most notably trade union recognition and the national minimum wage. But I want to see workplace rights strengthened even more.

Let me give you one example relevant to today’s debate.

The TUC are training workplace environmental representatives to engage with employers on measures to reduce carbon emissions within their workplace, including travel to and from work. And I want to see them get legal backing.

Climate change can not simply be solved by Government top down action, especially when many people seem reluctant to change their consumer or travel habits. We need a sense of empowerment and realisation that although Governments will take the big decisions, we can all make a difference, through our everyday actions.

For all of us climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. I welcome Government proposals for a ten fold increase in renewable energy. The Climate Change Act sets the UK apart as the only country to set a legislative framework for an 80% cut in carbon emissions and will be held accountable by an independent committee of experts.

But to ensure that we achieve this we must not allow the unchecked expansion of aviation when the cost of doing so is to off-set the savings in carbon emissions we make elsewhere.

I am quite open about my opposition to the expansion of Heathrow, even with the limits imposed by Ed’s Department on new flight paths and noise and air pollution. My passion is public transport and the expansion of the rail network with new capacity for passenger and freight traffic. The stark reality is that we must drive less and make greater use of car share schemes. I gave up my car several years’ ago when I lived in London. I was able to do so because Ken Livingstone, then Mayor of London, introduced the congestion charge and at the same time improved public transport. It was a bold and radical step and we need to see more of these if we are to succeed in getting people out of their cars.

We also need to step up our plans to create millions more energy efficient homes and invest in micro generation over the long term. This will help eradicate fuel poverty and give householders real choice about the kind of fuel they use. I believe that we can make this part of a sustained programme of investment in low carbon technologies which if delivered will help take the UK economy out of recession and create a sustainable future.

We now need Government to put its foot on the accelerator to fast track the development of renewable sources of energy and make it abundantly clear to the public that we will drive through action on climate change. If not we will struggle to meet the challenging targets set out in the Climate Change Act.

If I am elected it will be up to me and other Labour colleagues to ensure we meet our carbon reduction commitments. The ground breaking report from Lord Stern said that if we do not take action early on then the cost of fighting climate change will be much greater in future years.

So what is our role?

• We should always be seeking progressive change
• We should always be asking for transparency and accountability
• and we should always be asking Labour Governments to deliver more

It is only by constantly challenging and pushing the boundaries that we will succeed in tackling these global problems

If I am elected let no one be in any doubt that I will be doing so.

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