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Energy

Chapters

  1. Salaries and Taxation
  2. Pensions
  3. Benefits
  4. Health and Care
  5. Education
  6. Housing
  7. Employment
  8. Trades Unions and Labour Laws
  9. Trade and Industry
  10. Transport
  11. Energy
  12. Environment
  13. Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Rural Life
  14. Crime
  15. Legal System
  16. Immigration and Asylum
  17. Local Government
  18. Devolution and Regional Government
  19. Parliament and Democracy
  20. Media
  21. Freedom of Information and Privacy
  22. Northern Ireland
  23. European Union
  24. Foreign Policy
  25. Defence and Disarmament
  26. Conclusions
 Preamble

Chapters

  1. Salaries and Taxation
  2. Pensions
  3. Benefits
  4. Health and Care
  5. Education
  6. Housing
  7. Employment
  8. Trades Unions and Labour Laws
  9. Trade and Industry
  10. Transport
  11. Energy
  12. Environment
  13. Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Rural Life
  14. Crime
  15. Legal System
  16. Immigration and Asylum
  17. Local Government
  18. Devolution and Regional Government
  19. Parliament and Democracy
  20. Media
  21. Freedom of Information and Privacy
  22. Northern Ireland
  23. European Union
  24. Foreign Policy
  25. Defence and Disarmament
  26. Conclusions
Under the Tories, most of Britains deep coal mines were closed and all but one of the remainder privatised, while open-cast mining expanded. The rules governing electricity generation were widely seen as biased against coal, and gas-fired generation increased rapidly. The same rules and the non-fossil fuel obligation (NFFO) were used to protect the more expensive nuclear power plants. Almost no NFFO support went to renewable energy sources like wind, wave and solar, and their specific budget was to be cut. The nuclear industry also developed the Thorp and MOX plants which others criticised on cost, environmental and safety grounds. Little effort went into energy saving and the more efficient use of energy.
Labour policy was:
1No further open-cast mining on greenfield sites 
2To rewrite the rules for electricity generation to give coal a level playing field 
3No new gas-fired power stations until...? 
4No new nuclear power stations 
5To close Thorp and refuse a licence to the MOX plant, (?) 
6Not to cut the renewables budget and suppliers to be obliged to use renewables 
7To generate 10% of electricity from renewables by 2010 and 20% by 2025 
8A national energy efficiency programme including insulation work and obliging energy suppliers to provide a range of energy efficiency services 
9Promotion of combined heat and power (CHP) and clean coal technology 
In fact under New Labour:
1?We need more information on the outcome of this pledge. Can you help?
2The latest (?) rules (where output must be predicted 3.5 hours ahead) still discriminate against coalLeft as under the Conservatives
3New gas-fired stations were allowed from ? after lobbying by companiesLeft as under the Conservatives
4There is a 5 year embargo on nuclear stations, but New Labour is now pushing the case for new onesPledge partially carried out
5Thorp is now supported and MOX has been licensedLeft as under the Conservatives
6These were achieved with suppliers obliged to use 3.5% renewable sourcesPledge carried out
7These remain as targets (?) and wind power is being greatly expandedPledge carried out
8A private members bill has improved insulation but on a much smaller scalePledge partially carried out
9CHP is actually decreasing and clean coal technology was not pursuedLeft as under the Conservatives
In addition:
Bullet pointBritish Nuclear Fuels has been privatised (?) 
Bullet pointA government review of future energy needs sat in secret with no cross-examination of witnesses 
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