• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News Environment

Another U-turn? Local MP accuses ministers of ‘capitulation to climate change alarmists’

“The truth is that this mine is terrible for our fight against climate change, won’t help our steel industry and won’t create secure jobs," said Ed Miliband

Joe Mellor by Joe Mellor
2021-03-12 12:28
in Environment, News
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

Environmental campaigners have hailed a decision by Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick to “call in” a controversial application for a new coal mine on the Cumbrian coast.

In a letter to Cumbria County Council, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said Mr Jenrick believed the application had raised issues of “more than local importance”.

It said he had decided that a public inquiry should be held to explore the arguments put forward by both supporters and opponents of the proposal by West Cumbria Mining (WCM) to open the deep mine near Whitehaven.

Caroline lucas Tweeted: “Huge congratulations to all who campaigned so hard for this.

“Govt finally concedes new coal mine “raises planning issues of more than local importance” – flatly contradicting what @AlokSharma_RDG told me yesterday Here’s hoping sense prevails & greener jobs urgently created.”

?Huge congratulations to all who campaigned so hard for this?

Govt finally concedes new coal mine “raises planning issues of more than local importance” – flatly contradicting what @AlokSharma_RDG told me yesterday

Here’s hoping sense prevails & greener jobs urgently created https://t.co/1niTwQ29v5

— Caroline Lucas (@CarolineLucas) March 12, 2021

The Liberal Democrats Tweeted: “This mine would be an almighty backwards step in our fight against climate change. We hope this public inquiry leads to these plans finally being axed. The Government must instead look at bringing well-paid, long-term, green jobs to Cumbria.”

This mine would be an almighty backwards step in our fight against climate change.

We hope this public inquiry leads to these plans finally being axed.

The Government must instead look at bringing well-paid, long-term, green jobs to Cumbria.https://t.co/eBMQFdacpt

— Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) March 12, 2021

RelatedPosts

Watch: Tory Think Tank representative thinks Pincher story is ‘big fuss about not very much’

BBC confirms complaints against DJ Tim Westwood despite previously saying no evidence of accusations had been found

Rachel Johnson says she was verbally abused at Rolling Stones concert

Downing Street confirms Johnson WAS aware of concerns about Pincher but didn’t stop his whip appointment

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick
Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick says the issues should be explored in a public inquiry (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

It follows intense pressure by scientists and campaigners who warned it would undermine the Government’s hopes of progress when it hosts the international Cop26 climate change talks in Glasgow later this year.

Friends of the Earth climate campaigner Tony Bosworth said it was “a startling, but very welcome U-turn” after ministers had previously resisted calls to intervene in the application.

“It was not possible for the Government to maintain, as it claimed only two months ago, that this was just a matter of local importance and the decision will now rightly be taken at national level,” he said.

Alarmists

However the decision is likely to dismay some northern Tory MPs who were banking on the project to bring much-needed jobs and investment to the region.

Workington MP Mark Jenkinson accused ministers of a “capitulation to climate change alarmists”.

“This represents a risk to significant private sector investment in Cumbria and the Government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda,” he said.

The announcement came after the council said last month it would reconsider the application by WCM to mine for coking coal for use in steel production.

The move prompted the company to declare last week that it was lodging papers with the High Court to commence judicial review proceedings.

In its letter, the MHCLG noted the application had first been submitted in 2017 and had already been considered three times by the council’s planning committee without it reaching a final outcome.

It said that in taking his decision, Mr Jenrick had taken into account the latest recommendations of the Climate Change Committee for the sixth carbon budget which will set legal limits for emissions between 2033 and 2037.

“The truth is that this mine is terrible for our fight against climate change, won’t help our steel industry and won’t create secure jobs.” @Ed_Miliband https://t.co/mgUJt1ymOi

— Labour Press (@labourpress) March 11, 2021

“The Secretary of State recognises that proponents and opponents take different positions on that matter, and considers that this should be explored during a public inquiry. Furthermore controversy about the application has increased,” the letter said.

Months of pressure

“Overall the Secretary of State considers that this application raises planning issues of more than local importance, and further considers that the limbs of the call-in policy relating to potential conflict with national policies … and substantial cross-boundary or national controversy are satisfied.”

For Labour, shadow business secretary Ed Miliband said ministers had been forced to act following months of pressure.

“The truth is that this mine is terrible for our fight against climate change, won’t help our steel industry and won’t create secure jobs,” he said.

“The saga of this mine is a symptom of a Government that isn’t serious about its climate ambitions and refuses to invest at scale in a green future to provide the jobs that workers have a right to expect.”

Liberal Democrat environment spokesman Tim Farron said allowing the mine to go ahead would be would be “an almighty backwards step” in the fight against climate change.

“I hope this public inquiry leads to these plans finally being axed,” he said.

WCM wants to extract around 2.5 million tonnes of coal a year to supply UK and European steel-making coal plants, which currently import around 45 million tonnes a year from the USA, Canada, Russia and Australia.

The proposed site is next to the location of a former colliery in Whitehaven that shut three decades ago.

Related: Wildlife expert who turned garden into haven for endangered species ordered to tear it down by council

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Donald Trump warns of “terrible” outbreak in New Zealand after 9 new cases were recorded

How London became a haven for the world’s fraudsters

Teenagers who went on two-day London moped mugging spree have been arrested

Plastic food packaging can contain hundreds of chemicals and serious damage to humans is revealed

Parliament hears criminal trials in jeopardy, children wrongly taken away from parents in growing forensic services privatisation crisis

Hotel quarantine ‘worst experience of my life’, says ‘frustrated’ traveller

11-year-old who lost both her feet in lawnmower accident defies odds to keep dancing

UK Weather forecast, Thursday 24 June 2021

Tories suffer heavy losses in London as Johnson faces grassroots backlash

Why didn’t Trump want to know? Jacinda Ardern offers to share virus expertise with Biden

JOBS

FIND MORE JOBS

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.