Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Lazarowicz Excerpts

Wednesday 30th April 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for holding these job fairs. A number of Members of Parliament have taken that approach and have seen real benefits in their local areas as businesses come forward to pledge apprenticeships and to take people on, and are brought together with people who are looking for work. Since the recess, we have seen a series of figures on our economy: growth is now running at over 3%, 1.5 million of our fellow countrymen and women are in work since this Government came to power, inflation is at a five-year low and business confidence is at its highest level since the early 1970s. There is still a lot of work to do and there is absolutely no complacency. The long-term economic plan is not complete, but it is well on its way.

[Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q5. Before he was elected, the Prime Minister said that “if they’d let me” he would put a wind turbine on No. 10 Downing street, making use of the cheapest and most developed form of renewable energy. Last week, he announced that his party wants to end support for onshore wind even though the Government’s own survey this week showed that 70% of the public now support it. What changed his mind?

[The Prime Minister]

What is changed is that we have seen a massive increase in onshore wind generation in our country. We will achieve, through what is in the planning system and under construction, the provision of approaching 10% of our electricity demand through onshore wind. The question is then whether it is right to continue to overrule local planners and local people and whether it continues to be right to put taxpayers’ money in after we have built out that onshore wind provision. I do not believe that it is, and the Conservative manifesto will make that very clear for local communities. Other parties will have to make their own choices.