David Miliband urges Labour rethink

Labour needs "restless rethinking" of its purpose and its policies if it is to return to power, former leadership candidate David Miliband has said.

In his most high-profile foray into the political frontline since being defeated by his brother Ed in the 2010 poll, the former foreign secretary set out a seven-point plan for the party.

He said Labour must admit "loud and clear" where it got things wrong in power, but - in what may be seen as a defence of New Labour against his brother's criticisms - he insisted the party must assert that the gains made between 1997 and 2010 "far outstripped the mistakes".

Mr Miliband was careful to praise his younger brother's leadership, but his decision to set out his own thoughts on Labour's future direction will inevitably spark speculation that he has not ruled out a return to the party's top ranks.

David Miliband (right) says his brother
 Ed deserves credit for his record as Labour leader

His intervention, in an essay in the New Statesman, came as Labour's former Chancellor Alistair Darling told the same magazine that the party needs to present its policies "in a sharper way".

David Miliband said his brother should be given credit for preventing disunity in the Labour ranks since its disastrous 2010 general election defeat. And he said his brother had shown he understands the need for a policy rethink and had spoken "powerfully and correctly" about welfare.

But he warned that there were elements within Labour who wanted to respond to defeat by retreating to "big state" social democracy.

And he said the party had "a lot to be concerned about" in terms of its prospects of electoral victory in 2015, when Conservatives will be boosted by their financial advantages and boundary changes which will favour them.

David Miliband wrote: "We will win again only when two conditions are met. First, that we fully understand in a deep way why the electorate voted against us in 2010. Second, that we clarify the kind of future we seek for Britain, and the means to achieve it, in a way that speaks to the demands of the time."

Labour must show they are "reformers of the state and not just its defenders", he said. "The weaknesses of the 'big society' should not blind us to the policy and political dead end of the 'Big State'. The public won't vote for the prescription that central government is the cure for all ills for the good reason that it isn't."

Copyright © 2012 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

I'll lead independence fight against Alex Salmond, says Alistair Darling

Former chancellor Mr Darling, the Labour MP for Edinburgh South West, is seen by many as the most credible man for the job and he has now confirmed he is ready to take it on.

His commitments at Westminster mean he cannot manage the whole anti-independence campaign, but he is willing to devote all his time to it in the months immediately before the referendum.

'I am ready to do everything I can. It is something I believe in. I am passionate about this,' Mr Darling told the Sunday Mail.

Alistair Darling believes 

Alex Salmond's judgement is flawed (PA)

He plans to make a positive case for Scotland remaining part of the union, rather than rubbish Mr Salmond's claim that it could become a strong independent nation.

However, Mr Darling is prepared to point out what he views as the first minister's weaknesses, even though he described him as 'an accomplished politician'. 

'That doesn't mean you have to be mesmerised by him,' said the ex-chancellor.

'One of the things is that he is happiest when he is abusing David Cameron. He is distinctly unhappy when you press him on specifics and practicalities.

'I think his judgment is wrong. This is the man who famously said he thought the Royal Bank of Scotland's bid for ABN Amro was a good thing.'

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sunday-mail/

Labour 'to force vote on RBS bonus'

Labour will force a Commons vote calling for Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Stephen Hester to be stripped of his bonus, a party source has said.

Pressure is mounting on RBS chief
executive Stephen Hester to waive his bonus

It will hold an Opposition Day debate the week after next to heap pressure on the Government as the row continues to grow over the payment, which is worth almost £1 million.

Although the vote will not be binding it could prove deeply embarrassing for the coalition, which has faced widespread criticism for its decision not to block the bonus at the taxpayer-funded bank.

A Labour source said: "David Cameron's failure of leadership cannot be allowed to stand. We will force a Commons vote to let MPs show the public's disapproval of Mr Hester's bonus."

© Press Association 2012

Miliband struggling, says Mandelson

Ed Miliband is "struggling" in key areas of his role as Labour leader, Lord Mandelson has said.

The former business secretary, an architect of New Labour, said the leader faced the "unenviable" task of trying to redefine the party at the same time as fighting the coalition on the economy.

Asked about criticism of Mr Miliband's leadership, Lord Mandelson said he found it "tedious and boring".

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "What I think Ed Miliband is doing, he's struggling with two things and they are not easy. One is that he is trying to oppose the Government on the economy where, legitimately or not, people will take different views.

"They think the Government's in the wrong place but in making an argument against what the Government is doing fighting the recession he is also sort of struggling with his own inherited legacy from the previous Labour government and they are not doing that easily or finely but nor is it simple to do.

"At exactly the same time he is struggling to invent a new left of centre political paradigm that isn't New Labour that, in a sense, takes lessons and experience from the last 15 years, not least from the experience of globalisation, revisit the issues to do with markets and inequalities and responsible capitalism, to sort of invent a new left of centre politics for the 21st century."

Lord Mandelson said he found criticism of
Ed Miliband's leadership of the Labour party 'tedious and boring'

He added: "It's a rather unenviable job which I think he is doing well in the circumstances but it is not easy."

Lord Mandelson had easy praise, however, for his successors at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). He said: "If you see what (Business Secretary) Vince Cable is doing and what David Willetts in particular, the higher education and science minister, is doing - I read a speech of his the other day, I could have written every word of it myself - it's in a sense taking to a higher and more sophisticated level the sort of industrial policy thinking and actions that I was introducing when I came back to government.

"The only problem is this - it is done on such a ludicrously small scale."

Lord Mandelson said internationally the right wing had been "better at handling the rhetoric of austerity" and had tended to win the argument on "profligate" big government. The centre-left needs to fight back but "not by reverting to old arguments about state control and intervention".

Miliband: End the 'rip-off' charges

Ed Miliband has called for an end to Britain's "rip-off consumer culture", insisting the Government should intervene on exorbitant charges for savings, holidays, banking and parking.

The Labour leader urged David Cameron to take a tougher approach to "predatory" companies that exploited customers, and proposed the creation of a new consumer watchdog to limit pension fees, car parking charges and airline levies.

His comments to the Daily Telegraph come amid growing concern that families are being exploited by irresponsible companies at a time when they are struggling to cope with rising prices and austerity measures.

Mr Miliband said: "In every area, you have to call time on the surcharge culture. Making a fair profit is important but it can't be done in an underhand and predatory way. This is about power in relation to private services and how government can be on the consumer's side. Lots of businesses recognise this. It's part of how you build a competitive economy in the world."

He added: "It's about the rules that government sets. This is a specific argument about a number of private services to the public. (For example) we're not proposing to go back on taking the railways into private ownership but maybe in transition not enough was done to protect the public."

Mr Miliband said the plans would ultimately help business to become more competitive and points to America, where consumer regulation is tougher.

"People's living standards are squeezed as never before, and we have to do everything we can to relieve that burden," he said.

Ed Miliband has called for the creation
of a consumer watchdog to limit pension
fees, car parking charges and airline levies

The Labour leader identified several areas for immediate action. On savings fees he said pension firms should set out how much they are charging savers to invest, after research showed that up to 16 fees and levies can be applied to private schemes. If charges do not fall, total charges should be capped.

He said car parking charges at railway stations should be capped, along with season tickets and other fares; for banks, which make £2 billion annually from unauthorised overdraft fees, a new watchdog should have the power to intervene and outlaw excessive fees; and the big energy firms should be broken up and transparent pricing introduced to enable proper competition.

Mr Miliband also hit out at consumer helplines, saying it is unacceptable that people are charged "50p a minute just to complain", and criticised airline levies which mean travellers face a range of charges for baggage, paying with a credit card and even checking in without printing out a boarding pass.

Copyright © 2012 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

PoliticsUK Interview with Kate Green MP

Kate Green OBE, Labour MP for Stretford and Urmston

Kate Green OBE has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stretford and Urmston since 2010. Born in Edinburgh, she attended Currie High School then graduated from Edinburgh University with a Bachelor of Laws degree.
After University Green began a career at Barclays Bank, working for them until to 1997. From 1997 to 1999 she worked as a Whitehall and Industry Group secondee to the Home Office.

Kate Green was employed as Director of the National Council for One Parent Families between 2000 and 2004, then working as Chief Executive of the Child Poverty Action Group until 2009. Alongside this, Green also served as a member of the London Child Poverty Commission, eventually serving as the commissioner chairing the body. Green also served as a magistrate in the City of London between 1993 and 2009.Politics UK asked its users to submit questions to be put to Kate Green, here are her answers






What age did you become interested in politics and what perked your interest in getting involved in politics?

Mrs Thatcher economic policies
were the catalyst for Kate Green's
entry into politics

I first became involved in politics as a young woman, starting out my working life at the beginning of the 1980’s .
I was horrified at the impact of Mrs Thatcher’s economic policies on jobs, communities and families. My generation were worried we’d never get jobs , whole industries were being destroyed, and young people were sleeping on the streets.
I was shocked, angry and frightened for the future – and that’s what drove me into politics.




Why did you join the Labour Party?
Labour’s the party that’s always campaigned for equality, social justice, and an end to poverty. Those are the values I want to fight for and I believe you can do that most effectively in a political party.


Why did you forego a successful career in the financial sector for a career in politics that has no long term job security?


I don’t know what makes you think I had “a successful career in the financial sector”! I did work for a high street bank for a number of years after university, but I wasn’t very good at it, I didn’t enjoy it much, and by the time I entered parliament I’d spent well over a decade doing jobs in the civil service and in campaigning charities. I did love those jobs, but in the end I felt if I really wanted to make a difference , the most important place to be was in parliament.

Kate was a director of Gingerbread(formerly the National Council of
One Parent Families) between 2000 and 2004.

You were a director on the National Council of One Parent Families. Could you tell us more about your role you played and what achievement the National Council of One Parent Families achieved during your employment?


I was director of One Parent Families (now merged with and known as Gingerbread) from 2000-2004, a very exciting time to do that job, as the Labour government were engaged in a whole range of polices to improve the position of lone parents, from the new deal for lone parents that helped them into employment, to reforming child support , to introducing a national childcare strategy. It was great to be able to have influence on the development of those policies – and to force the Tory party to recognise that most lone parents never set out to be on their own, they want to work and do their best for their kids, and to declare their party’s “war on lone parents was over”.


Your were Chief Executive of the Child Poverty Action Group from 2004-2009, Can you tell us more about the Child Poverty Action Group and your role when you were employed with them.

CPAG - "one of the most important
campaigning and lobbying
organisations in the UK"

CPAG has been described as one of the most important campaigning and lobbying organisations in the UK – and I was privileged to work with some of the most knowledgeable thinkers and experts on poverty, social security and social policy as its chief executive. I’m particularly proud of the manifesto we produced on the policies needed to create a society free of child poverty, and our work on the importance of universal child benefit. CPAG was a founder member and at the heart of the End Child Poverty campaign, a coalition of over 100 organisations holding the government to its promise to halve then eradicate child poverty and working on the policies that could help achieve this.


Can you give us your opinion on unpaid internships?


Unpaid internships privilege the better-off and the well-connected. That’s why I’m opposed to them.


EMA- Do you support the restoration on EMA and why?


The EMA made an enormous difference to young people from poorer backgrounds in my constituency and across the country, and it’s a tragedy that the Tory-led government has abolished it. Young people now tell me they can’t contemplate staying on at college, and its removal had a really harmful effect on their ambitions and aspirations. It helped pay for books and materials, travel to school and getting your lunch - as one young woman in my constituency said to me , “it’s not a luxury, it’s a necessity”

"The Governments policies are deterring young
people from modest backgrounds from applying to university"

What is you view on University tuitions fees?


As with EMA, the government’s policies are deterring young people from modest backgrounds from applying to university. They’re worried about how on earth they can take on a debt of £9000 a year. That’s why Labour has committed to reducing the fees to £6000, and why I support calls for a review of student funding and whether a graduate tax would be a fairer form of repayment.


Why is there so few youths involved and engaged in politics?


You shouldn’t ask me –ask young people – I suspect it’s because politics don’t feel relevant to them or they don’t like the style of political behaviour. But it’s very important that we find a way to engage young people in politics, to learn their views and priorities, and respond to their concerns – we can’t build a fairer, more prosperous country if we’re not meeting the needs and addressing the concerns of the next generation.


Should the voting age be reduced to 16 and would this help in getting youths engaged with politics?


I support a reduction in the voting age to 16, alongside better political and citizenship education. Young people are making a big contribution to society, and we expect a lot of them, so they’re entitled to have their say in the political process and decisions that affect them . And we know that mid-teens is a good age to interest young people in politics and establish a habit of voting and political participation.


Do you believe that there is a literacy problem in the UK and if so, how can we combat it?

Literacy improved under Labour
with the help of projects such a Every Child a Reader

Reading and writing standards improved significantly under Labour, thanks to our programmes like Every Child a Reader and literacy hours, but there’s a need to do more to ensure no child leaves school unable to read and write to a level that enables them fully to function in society. Intensive one to one support is important, as is helping parents to read with their children, and ensuring all families have access to books.


How can we help youths reach their potential?


The education system’s key, as is ensuring that parents have the support they need to provide for and support their children.


Who is your inspiration, both inside and outside of politics?


I’m inspired by the people in my constituency who form a strong, supportive, diverse and welcoming community.


Do you support a North-East Assembly?


Well, I’m an MP in the North West not the North East, so I don’t think my opinion’s very relevant!


You were selected to stand using an all-women shortlist. How would you answer the criticism that all-women shortlist are not good for democracy?


AWS were in my view essential to significantly increasing the level of women’s representation in parliament, not just in the Labour party, but setting the bar for the other parties. That’s hugely important : we must have a diverse parliament, representative of the country as a whole. It strengthens democracy and ensures our policies properly reflect society's needs and priorities. It was having more women in parliament that forced issues like childcare and stronger maternity rights onto the political agenda – now they’re seen as mainstream but without women there I don’t believe that would have happened.

Kate, alongside Anne McGuire, are developing
policies that will reduce inequality.

 In October 2011 you were promoted to shadow the Ministry of State for Equality. Can you tell us what that job entails?


Ed Miliband has talked of the priority he attaches to reducing inequality in this country, and my job is to help develop and advocate the policies that can help to achieve that – whether it’s as a member of our women’s safety commission, helping to develop policies on childcare, working with my colleague Anne McGuire on strengthening rights for disabled people, supporting calls for gay and lesbian people to marry, campaigning for fair employment opportunities for people from ethnic minority backgrounds – there’s so much to get my teeth into.


Is the UK equal for all?


No, we have a long, long way to go. It can’t be right that so much power and wealth is concentrated in the hands of only a small minority.


You have close ties to unions, where do you stand on the prospect of future industrial actions over the pension dispute?


Noone wants to see industrial action, and both sides need to keep talking. I’m pleased there’s been progress in negotiations on a number of the public sector pension schemes, but I understand how worried low paid workers feel at the increasing cost of their pension contributions, and I’m very worried this will cause many to stop saving for a pension altogether because they can't afford it , leaving them struggling in retirement.


Finally, have you any advice for those who are hoping to become Politicians?


You need to be very determined, very energetic, very committed to what you believe in – and very lucky


PoliticsUK would like to thank Kate Green for this interview.

Kate Green's Website: http://www.kategreen.org

Balls in public sector pay warning

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls has warned public sector workers he would make no promise to reverse the freeze on their pay before the end of this parliament.

He blamed Chancellor George Osborne's "mistakes" with the economy for making such pay restraint necessary.

But he said Labour would not make commitments on public spending unless they were "responsible and credible".

Mr Balls angered unions by effectively accepting the public sector pay freeze up to 2015, the year of the planned next election.

Ed Balls-Labour's economic plan must be credible

But he said: "I can't just promise to people that I can just wave a magic wand and be able to spend more and tax less.

"I cannot make commitments now for three years' time. I won't do that, it wouldn't be credible."

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Balls said voters faced a choice between higher public sector pay or tackling rising unemployment.

"George Osborne clearly hoped he would be able to have tax cuts later in the parliament and rising public pay. It's not going to happen because of his failures," he said.

"People might expect me to come along and say 'well of course we will back higher pay'.

"It's a question of priorities. I can't say to private and public workers or to the country that Labour would put higher pay above jobs when unemployment is so high. We've got to be honest with people about the choices they face."

©Press Association

Balls to outline Labour alternative

Labour faces "a big task" to regain economic credibility and win back public trust, Ed Balls is set to admit in a speech.

In a high-profile speech setting out what he terms the "economic alternative" to the coalition Government, the shadow chancellor will acknowledge that Labour should have been "clearer" before the 2010 general election that it would impose spending cuts and tax rises if re-elected.

And he will repeat his message that the party cannot make any commitments now to reverse coalition cuts or tax hikes if it returns to power.

Ed Ball want to regain trust with the electorate

Chancellor George Osborne's economic policy threatens Britain with "a decade of stagnation", Mr Balls will warn in a speech to the Fabian Society in London. Labour must offer an economic alternative which meets the twin challenges of boosting growth now through temporary tax cuts and investment in jobs and delivering reform over the longer term to build "responsible capitalism".

But he will caution: "To make that alternative work and be credible, it must be underpinned by a clear commitment to balanced but tough spending and budget discipline now and into the medium term.

"However difficult it is for me, for some of my colleagues and for our wider supporters, we cannot make any commitments now that the next Labour government will reverse tax rises or spending cuts. And we will not."

Labour's five-point plan for a temporary VAT cut and investment in jobs is needed to "stop a decade of slow growth and higher debts becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy", Mr Balls will say.

"Action now for growth, jobs and reform does not conflict with the need for a credible medium-term plan on the deficit, it reinforces it," he will argue.

This must be coupled with "long-term reform to ... build a stronger and fairer economic model for the future - what Ed Miliband has called a more responsible capitalism - which can, even in tougher times, meet our aspirations for social justice and strong public services", he will say.

But he will acknowledge that setting out an alternative to the coalition's economic policy is not enough, and that Labour must also overcome the electorate's doubts over its economic credentials.

LEADERS UNITE ON SCOTS REFERENDUM

David Cameron and Ed Miliband joined forces today in pledging to fight to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom, as Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond told Westminster politicians to "butt out" of the debate.

The leaders of both major Westminster parties called on Mr Salmond's Scottish National Party to engage in talks over the coming weeks to pave the way for a referendum on independence.

Mr Cameron said he "passionately" believed in preserving the Union, and taunted the SNP for seeking to delay a ballot, telling MPs: "Let's have the debate and let's keep our country together."

But Mr Salmond dismissed the UK Government's argument that Scotland's Parliament has no legal power to mount its own referendum on independence.

He will unveil his own proposals before the end of this month for a referendum in the autumn of 2014.

The First Minister's plans, set for publication in the week beginning January 23, look set to put Edinburgh on collision course with London.

Addressing MPs, prime minister David Cameron said he was disappointed at the constitutional dispute over the proposed referendum on Scottish independence (Pic: PA)

Mr Salmond's office said they will include a vote for 16 and 17-year-olds and may offer voters a third "devo-max" option, under which Scotland would stay in the Union but gain greater self-determination on financial issues. Both of these features were ruled out in UK Government proposals put forward by Scotland Secretary Michael Moore.

Mr Moore called on the Scottish administration to work with the UK Government over the coming weeks to agree arrangements for a "clear, legal and decisive" referendum, which could be held within 18 months.

And Mr Cameron's spokesman indicated that this could involve talks between the Prime Minister and Mr Salmond.

The spokesman said he expected negotiations over the referendum - and the independence battle itself - to involve senior politicians from all sides of the debate, including a number of Government ministers.

He did not rule out the possibility that Mr Cameron could appear alongside Mr Miliband to argue the case for the Union, after the Prime Minister said he agreed "100%" with the Labour leader on the benefits of preserving the United Kingdom.

In a rare display of unity at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, Mr Cameron said: "This is one area where (Mr Miliband) and I are going to be 100% in agreement.

"I passionately believe in the future of our United Kingdom. I passionately believe we are stronger together rather than breaking apart.

"Frankly, I am sad we are even having this debate, because I support the United Kingdom so strongly, but we have to respect the fact that Scotland voted for a separatist party at the Scottish parliamentary elections."

Mr Miliband said: "We on this side of the House believe the United Kingdom benefits the people of Scotland and the people of the rest of the United Kingdom in equal measure.

"We are stronger together and weaker apart."

Mr Cameron said he was "looking forward" to the debate, and mocked the SNP for seeking to delay the poll until 2014, telling MPs: "I sometimes think when I listen to them that it is not a referendum they want, it's a never-endum."

Asked whether the PM would be willing to share a platform with Mr Miliband, Mr Cameron's official spokesman said: "The Prime Minister is keen to make the case for the Union and you saw at Prime Minister's Questions that he is keen to work with the opposition on this."

Mr Salmond said the Prime Minister should "butt out" of an issue for Scottish people and said his intervention had provoked a "huge adverse reaction... to the Thatcheresque idea that Downing Street knows best".

He had "no objection" to Mr Moore's proposals for Westminster to help Holyrood stage a referendum, but said there was "plenty of legal authority" for the Scottish Government to mount its own ballot without assistance from south of the border.

Mr Salmond told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "The objection, of course, is that the Prime Minister has started to put all sorts of London-based strings on."

He said: "Our conditions are quite clear: this must be a referendum built and run in Scotland, accountable to the Scottish Parliament. It has to be run fairly and transparently, of course, but we won't accept unreasonable conditions placed by London on how Scotland should run the poll."

Mr Salmond's office confirmed the Scottish Government's position that 16 and 17-year-olds on the electoral register in Scotland should be "fully entitled to vote" in any referendum. Asked if voters would be offered a third "devo-max" option, a spokesman said: "We're not for closing down choice."


© Press Association 2012

GOVERNMENT 'HURTING' FUEL USERS

The Government was accused by Labour of refusing to "stand up to" the energy companies as millions of households fell in to fuel poverty.

Shadow energy secretary Caroline Flint said that instead of helping, ministers were "making things worse" as a result of their decisions to cut winter fuel allowance and subsidies for solar panels.

Opening a debate on energy prices called by Labour, Ms Flint said: "This Government isn't helping, it's hurting."

Ms Flint: The Government isn't helping

She told the Commons: "Consumer Focus say one-quarter of all households in England and Wales, 5.7 million of them, are now in fuel poverty.

"National Energy Action fear that the figure could be as high as 6.6 million, levels not seen since the dog days of the last Conservative government.

"The number of households in debt to their electricity and gas suppliers are up too. But energy companies' profit margins are still in excess of £100 per customer per year."

She continued: "Time and time again we see a Government that is not just out of touch but completely unable to stand up to vested interests in the energy industry too.

"Far from doing everything they can to help this Government is making things worse not better for millions of hard-working families.

"Their failing economic policies mean that the average family is facing the worst squeeze on income since records began in the 1950s."

Pensioners were having their winter fuel allowance cut, she said, but acknowledged that under a future Labour administration "it may be something we cannot reverse".

But she said Labour were committed to ensuring all over-75s would get the lowest tariff on offer.

The Warm Home Discount, aimed at those on low incomes, was being claimed by only 3% of eligible families, Ms Flint claimed.

"This is not about spending more money or adding to customers' bills, it is about standing up to vested interests in this sector and telling them they have a responsibility to their customers and to the public."

Ms Flint also attacked the Government's "disastrous and chaotic" cuts to the feed-in tariff for solar power.

Energy Secretary Chris Huhne said he welcomed a recent drop in the prices of EDF Energy, which fell as result in a reduction in the cost of gas imports.

Energy Secretary: Shop around

But he said consumers needed to help themselves by shopping around for their energy and the Government was making it easier for them to switch suppliers.

He added: "Switching suppliers should be quick and easy so as part of our implementation of the EU third energy package in November we cut the time in takes to switch to just three weeks.

"Even without changing supplier, millions of households can save just by switching tariffs or payment methods. As agreed at our consumer energy summit, suppliers are placing messages on the front page of all bills to encourage consumers to phone them or visit a website to find out if they could be saving money."

Consumers could also save £100 a year if they switched to direct debit, he added.

Mr Huhne said: "We are helping through greater competition getting the consumer the best deal. We have done a lot to defend the consumer interest over the last 20 months, more than I would say that the (last Labour government) did over 13 years."

Mr Huhne said Britain needed to invest £110 billion in power plants and £90 billion in energy infrastructure over the next decade to avoid blackouts.

"We must keep the lights on in the cheapest, cleanest way to make sure households get the best deal in the long term," he said.

"We must invest now to improve our energy efficiency so we don't need to produce as much energy to keep warm and to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels in the long term so we don't have to rely on ever more expensive imports."

The Energy Secretary said ministers were "biting the bullet" rather than "delaying or dithering any longer".

He believed shale gas discovered near Blackpool, which is released through controversial "fracking", could "bring enormous prosperity" to regions rich in the resource.

"Providing all of the environmental safeguards are properly in place, it presents the possibility of a reduction in the cost of gas," said Mr Huhne.

"We are looking very closely at this and we've been in contact with the energy company involved in exploration in Lancashire and I very much hope we will be able to make progress on this."

©Press Association