Richard Baum

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has warned that Visiting Britain’s energy security is under severe threat as a result of the Government’s disintegrating energy policy, which will lead to an ever-increasing dependence on vulnerable foreign energy supplies.

Setting out Liberal Democrat proposals to secure energy independence for Britain yesterday, Nick argued that politicians of all parties need to demonstrate the kind of vision, application and political will behind the Apollo Project that succeeded in putting man on the moon, in order to head off the threat to the security of our energy supply.

Nick Clegg said:

“The Government has been looking at energy from the wrong end of the telescope.

“The scale of its failure to plan for Britain’s energy security has been brought into sharp relief by the Georgian crisis, which underlines the risks of increasing dependence on foreign energy sources as North Sea oil supplies run down.

“Rather than use its period in office to reduce Britain’s dependency on vulnerable supplies from unstable regions, Labour has dithered and flip-flopped for over a decade. Instead of an energy policy, we have a potential economic, environmental and national security disaster waiting to happen.

“But we have an enormous opportunity to create real energy independence for the UK, freeing ourselves from the shackles of foreign oil, coal and gas.

“Renewable energy is no longer a pipe-dream. It is realistic and achievable. All it requires is the leadership and vision that has been lacking under years of tired Labour thinking.

“That’s why today I am setting out Liberal Democrat proposals to become energy independent by 2050. This will require the kind of ambition and political will that succeeded in putting man on the moon.

“We need an ‘Apollo Project’ for British energy independence.

“Just as Britain invested in the North Sea in the 1970s to transform our energy prospects through oil production, we must today make similar investment in renewable technologies to harness Britain’s vast renewable energy resources, combined with major reductions in energy consumption.”

Rick