Onshore Wind Energy

Debate between Tony Cunningham and James Gray

Thursday 10th February 2011 Westminster Hall

[Tony Cunningham (Workington) (Lab)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for South Northamptonshire (Andrea Leadsom) on choosing such a very important topic for debate today.

I do not want to be party political at all, but I gently point out to the hon. Member for North Wiltshire (Mr Gray) that at the last election my constituency covered about a third of the Lake district, including six lakes, some of the highest mountains and some of the most beautiful countryside anywhere in the United Kingdom, and it is represented by a Labour MP. Therefore, the idea that all Labour MPs represent “dark satanic mills “ and so on is not quite the truth.

[Mr Gray]

I accept the hon. Gentleman’s point. I absolutely apologise for my disgraceful slur. I just ask him what has happened to his colleagues who are not here today?

[Tony Cunningham]

There is no way that I can account for my colleagues. I can account only for myself.

As I said, I will not be party political. I want to speak on behalf of the people of west Cumbria, the area that I represent. The hon. Member for South Northamptonshire said very clearly, and I agree wholeheartedly with her, that we have to accept that there are two major problems: energy security and climate change. If we are to deal with both those problems, wind turbines must play their part.

However, let us take west Cumbria as an example. Recently, we have had a wind farm constructed offshore. On a good day, it produces probably enough electricity for about half the entire population of Cumbria. On a very good day, it produces even more electricity than that. I think that the people of west Cumbria would say, “It’s large, it produces a huge amount of electricity, we’ll put up with it because of the amount of electricity that it produces”. Sellafield is about 15 miles from where I live. There will be a brand new nuclear power station constructed there, which will generate huge amounts of electricity. There is a plan—one that is only in its infancy—to build a barrage across the Solway firth, which would produce a large amount of electricity. To echo the point that the hon. Member for South Northamptonshire made, the wind blows some times and not at others, but the tide tends—most days—to come in twice a day, so tidal power is a very reliable form of energy.

The people of west Cumbria would say, “We’ve got huge offshore wind turbines, there are plans for a nuclear power station and plans for a barrage across the Solway. We are doing our bit, not just for Cumbria but for the entire United Kingdom. And yet they will still come to west Cumbria and say, ‘We want to put three turbines in a field, generating enough electricity to boil a kettle on a good day.’” That is what people get annoyed about.