Labour is not to blame for mess the Tories made

“values” here? Probably the most striking “value” now exemplified by the self-styled “party of government” is an apparent tolerance of racism.

The individual who has given the largest ever donation to party funds said when he saw MP Diane Abbott on TV he wanted to “hate all black women” and that “she should be shot”. He has insisted what he said “has nothing to do with her gender or the colour of her skin”. Rishi Sunak took hours to decide to criticise this statement and has no intention, at present, of giving back this tainted money, so the “best of the new” includes condemning outrageously racist and misogynist language not because it represents a shattering immorality, but only because of media pressure. Ethical leadership or the baseness of the “worst of the new”?

At a local and national level we have the worst of the old and the new. Can anyone believe that there is no need for change?

Jeremy Hall via email ✒ LABOUR’S decision to scale back spending on their Green Prosperity Plan has been necessitated by the dire state of the economy. This is not just the result of Rishi Sunak throwing money at Tory friends and fraudulent claims during Covid, or Liz Truss trashing the economy, but also Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement tax cuts, based on implausible future spending reductions.

Despite a smaller budget, all the main components of the Green Prosperity Plan have been retained. These are Great British Energy, a National Wealth Fund, a Warm Homes Plan and clean power generation by 2030.

Whereas over 80% of UK offshore wind is foreignowned, a striking 44% is public foreign-owned; the largest company is Danish. The largest onshore windfarm in Wales is owned by Sweden. Five million people in the UK pay electricity bills to EDF, which is 100% owned by France. In effect, this means UK electricity consumers are now paying for hospitals and schools in Denmark, Sweden and France. The centrepiece of Labour’s Green Prosperity Plan is Great British Energy, our own publicly-owned company investing in cheap, clean energy and giving us independence from foreign cost hikes.

The present recession and stagnation prove there has been no real national industrial strategy. The National Wealth Fund will invest in zero-carbon industries, creating jobs and encouraging further private investment to create growth. It is shameful that at present we have the worstinsulated houses in Europe. The Warm Homes Plan is to double the finance allocated by the present Government for the insulation of homes. Clean energy generation is being held back by existing government policies. The present effective ban on onshore wind generation has been estimated to cost families £180 every year. The Green Prosperity Plan aims to achieve clean energy generation by 2030, including investing in the cheapest sources such as onshore renewables and solar power.

Labour’s Green Prosperity Plan is good for the environment, good for UK jobs, good for growth and good for energy security. At the next general election we will have a choice: the present Tory uninterest, inaction and, frankly, environmentally damaging policies, or a vision of a better future for us, our children and our grandchildren. The choice is ours. Mike Baldwin

via email bines when the sun and wind aren’t playing ball.

We have other storage options as well. Batteries are falling in price and energy can be stored by heating sand or pressurising CO2, and such systems are already being used abroad. A UK firm has developed a pumped hydro solution based on a liquid more dense than water that can be used in thousands of locations in the UK.

We can also reduce our energy consumption by building low-carbon houses and insulating older ones. Other clean, renewable energy sources like geothermal and tidal all have their place.

Anyone who is looking for excuses and not solutions clearly doesn’t understand the dangers future generations face if we fail: and for those who say: “What about China?” we can influence China by working with other nations who want to do the right thing. China relies on trade, so we have influence, but only if we act ourselves.

One thing is certain; if we don’t continue to make progress, we cannot ask others to do what is necessary.

Tim Fairs

Penryn hope that the judicial review called for by Newquay Town Council goes ahead and that the proper functioning of local democracy can be restored.

John Griffin Newquay