Dualling the A1 - My Lords, please get your facts right

On Monday, in the House of Lords, a question was asked by Lord Walton of Detchant about when the Government was going to get round to dualling the A1 to the Scottish Border. The man charged with replying was the Earl Attlee, the Government's spokesman on transport in the Lords.

Perhaps it is my own failing for not having made contact with him myself before now, but I was horrified by his reply to Lord Detchant, which basically said that there was a perfectly good road from Newcastle along the A69 to Carlisle and north into Scotland that way, so what was all the fuss about and no, the Government weren't planning on dualling it.

Well not only is this a shocking dismissal of the North East as a region, a key player in the future profitability of UK plc, the only region with a positive balance of trade, exports up each quarter. But it also showed up the attitude of civil servants in the Department for Transport who have sidelined Transport Infrastructure investment in the North East to the point where the south east received £2,731 per head, but the North East only £5 per head (Data from IPPR North) last year.

It is necessary for our government not only to talk about rebalancing the economy across the country, but also to enact that worthy ideal by getting civil servants to follow through on projects which will actually help to do that. HS2 (a huge investment over 20 years) will help reach those central towns of Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester - but contrary to popular belief in London, there is a whole further stretch of England North of Leeds through Teesside, Tyne & Wear, Cumbria & Northumberland which have enormous potential but have been starved of critical infrastructure.

I have invited Lord Attlee to come to the North East and see and hear for himself just what its all about, this "dualling the A1" thing. I have policemen lining up to offer him a guided tour of the route in question, I have campaigners who have lost loved ones clamouring to talk to him directly, and I have countless businesses willing to explain to him exactly what this investment COULD do for the economy of UK plc and rebalancing the nation's dependence away from the South East and into Northern manufacturing and new private sector service industries.

A Voice of Reason from the man who keeps our lights on

George Wood, the retired head of Technical and Economics, Balancing Services, at the National Grid has written a brilliant piece about why the Government's obsession with inefficient wind turbines is madness. Its so sensible I wanted to share it with you. He writes:

"This crazy dash for development of inefficient wind-turbines and other renewables both in Scotland and England and Wales requires the upgrade of National Grid £17.6-billion and Scottish Power £7.6-billion plus interconnectors by undersea cables to many countries in Europe.

We must looking at transmission and distribution upgrades in total of over £40-billion pounds to deliver energy that is intermittent and requires the equivalent capacity to operate as regulating and standby reserves.

The intermittency is causing very efficient gas-turbine generators to operate more frequently at reduced outputs thereby lowering their load factors and decreasing their overall operating efficiencies causing more carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere.

The transmission losses of the network must be another significant factor, of the order 10% to 15% between Scotland and England. We are heating up our atmosphere by these transmission losses and surely this is additive to global warming, plus the manufacturing and construction carbon footprints of these new transmission connections. These effects should all be loaded against the wind turbines and other renewables because they are so very remote.

On top of this the off-shore wind turbines receive 12p/kWh subsidies and on-shore currently 6p/kWh. Additionally to this, the balancing costs caused by the necessary standby and operating reserves operations (on conventional generators) are increasing.

All of these increased carbon emissions and cost increases should be factored against the renewable generation developments because they are causing these changes.
It is very unlikely that there will be any beneficial reduction in carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the government induced ‘so-termed’ renewable energy developments.

The total increased costs must be in the order of £100-billion or more which amounts to £3,300 per household which will relate to an increase in electricity bills of £330 per household per year ad infinitum. I have offered Chris Huhne and DECC to set up a team to honestly and rigorously evaluate all of these pollutant effects and cost differentials but they have declined even to answer me.

This resultant cost increase will be devastating for the end consumers for what appears to be no overall reduction in green-house gases. On top of this we will all be encouraged/forced to accept the roll-out of smart electricity meters at a DECC quoted cost of £11.1-billion which in the final costings is likely to be twice this that would cost at least £34 per household per year ad infinitum. Why are we doing this?

The developments of shale gas extraction off our shores and new efficient gas-turbine power station implementations would in reality reduce carbon dioxide emissions by a greater extent and we would not require these exhorbitant transmission infrastructure costs.

I simply do not understand this madness, its as though there has been a brain disconnect by our politicians not asking if there are any real carbon dioxide reduction savings from the deployment of vast swathes of wind turbines destroying our beautiful landscapes and seascapes.

If Chris Huhne, as the LibDem's voice on energy in Government, refuses to listen to the wisdom of such as George Wood, is it time to rise up against his Department's intrangigence?

The Battle Continues..

Whilst London newspapers run stories about the potential charges to be brought or not against Chris Huhne, the coalition's Secretary of State for energy & Climate Change,those of us who are battling to protect rural Northumberland from the invasion of investment companies' building of giant industrial turbines continue to make tiny steps towards a clearer and fairer renewables agenda for the whole of our country. It seems that there are more and more MPs in Parliament who are starting to understand just how the present energy policy of subsidising onshore wind is affecting their constituents weekly budget.

The first wind turbine battle which I was involved in was against the proposed turbines just north of Alnwick, on Wandylaw, some five years ago now. Despite a huge campaign from local people, opposition from councillors at, and rejection by, Alnwick District Council, the application went to appeal and the Secretary of State at the time, Hazel Blears, overturned the decision and approved the scheme, subject to some work to be done on removing the threat to RAF flight training and radar impacts. It seems that this has now been achieved and the bulldozers are rolling in over untouched rural countryside in the months ahead.

Those of us who have been campaigning for many years against inappropriately sited giant wind turbines, know that this is at best an inefficient form of green energy which no businessman would invest in without Government funding, and at worst a destructive industry which destroys precious landscapes, and blights the lives of those families who have to live near them. The cost of the Government subsidy ends up on the bills of all electricity users, meaning that the poorest families in Britain are paying for a few investors to grow rich on the back of their rising bills. And all this for a technology that is so unpredictable, the National Grid cannot rely upon it for energy and therefore continues to demand coal or nuclear powered energy which is reliable and controllable.

Last winter for instance, when the temperature hardly rose above freezing for weeks at a time, there was almost no wind. And in the last few months, where there have been good windy days & nights as far as the turbine operators are concerned, the Grid has been unable to take on that power because there was too much at once. What happened? The Grid has to pay the turbine owners a fee to STOP THEM from generating power at a rate of up to 10 times what it would normally pay for electricity. Ludicrous and costing those least able to afford it the most.

We shall continue to campaign and raise awareness at the highest levels of just how damaging, for health and wealth, these uneconomic monsters are. There are other technologies which can be relied upon to generate regular power, such as offshore turbines and solar power, to name but two. If you would like to help us with our campaigns in Northumberland, please contact me on anne-marie@dualthea1.com.

The New Year Brings New Challenges

A new year always brings new challenges. It offers a new start – a determination to diet, giving up smoking or taking up an impossibly difficult new activity! New Year draws a line in the sand, one that many relish for the chance to start afresh.

Last week I watched a screening of the Iron Lady & realised that what any New Year never brings is an excuse to avoid hard work if we want to take on those new challenges. Love her or hate her, Lady Thatcher never shied away from doing what she thought was right, doing it with all her heart & soul, and to the very best of her ability and judgement.

Watching this extraordinary (in good & bad ways) film made me pause for a moment to catch up on what we have achieved in our campaigns in 2011, and think about where we want to go in the coming year.

In so many ways 2011 was not the easiest of years. Internationally we had to send troops to help Libya, we have faced (and continue to face) the Euro crisis and we are battling to find effective ways to get the UK back onto a financially even keel. I lost my 35 year old beloved cousin to cancer, and have struggled to help family members overcome various illnesses. But my kids bring me joy and pride every day, as they grow into passionate young adults.

2012 brings new horizons and possibilities: Boris's re-election in May if we all campaign really hard for him, The Golden Jubilee in June, the Olympics in August, government reforms to transform the way we go about our daily lives, and the year that my son goes to secondary school! When did I get to be the mother of a teenager?


Locally 2011 proved to be a good campaigning year. Northumberland is one of the most beautiful places in the world,but its topography has made it the subject of seemingly endless wind farm applications. These industrial monsters are inefficient, uneconomic and destroyers of our unique unspoilt landscapes. But 2011 brought a Big Society response to these (mostly foreign) investor applications looking to guarantee themselves 25 year cash cows on the back of trashing our landscape. Applications at Elsdon, Wingates, Belford, Whittingham and the rural countryside around Morpeth have been met with rising voices of dissent from local people. We can be proud of our small communities, of individuals willing to give up their precious family time to lead groups which will present the case against industrialisation of our countryside for no meaningful benefit.

These battles have not been easy – it required a collective and hard working approach but we are ready to tackle any application that threatens Northumberland's future or the long-term health of its small villages, their residents & wildlife.

I promise that as we go into 2012 I will continue do all I can to change Government policy for onshore wind turbines. This cash cow for investors leaves our poorest citizens across the country picking up the bill in electricity price hikes.

Many of our rural population feel alienated and unconnected to the fast-moving urban world. It is for this reason that I know that getting superfast rural broadband is so important in the next year. In 2011 I met with a huge number of people, including Jeremy Hunt (the Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport in charge of broadband roll-out), and we gathered substantial survey results on local views. Getting effective fast broadband is vital - it allows businesses to thrive, children to work online and everyone to live the life that 2012 can offer. I will be continuing to push for 100% cover across the county as our Council starts to roll out their plans. I don’t just think this as important, it is imperative.



As 2011 came to an end I looked back and saw too many serious and fatal accidents on our stretch of the A1. This is a dangerous road, both in safety terms, and to our future of our region. This stretch of farm track is preventing us from reaching our economic potential. In 2011 I made the case to Ministers, and brought the new Secretary of State for Transport Justine Greening (photo) up to Northumberland to see for herself how shocking a state our road is in. As a result of our campaigning, 2012 will bring the opportunity for detailed discussions with civil servants to progress the business case review we need to be prepared for funding when it is available.

There is no shortage of campaigning to be done in 2012, and I hope that we shall be able to look back and see real progress in these key infrastructure issues by this time next year.

What Has This Coalition Done for Us?

I'm asked regularly by those who are not natural supporters of the Conservatives "What has the Coalition done for us?" As we all battle through these tough financial times with the uncertainties which come with EU financial chaos & economic slowdowns, the Coalition is continuing to make real changes to the UK through strong leadership. I thought I would try to answer this question to help those who ask me what has been done. This is pretty impressive list of achievements.

Top achievements in 2011:

1. Steering Britain through the global debt storm.
The Government’s credible deficit reduction plan has ensured UK market interest rates on government debt have fallen to record lows and below Germany’s for the first time in years. Our country is a safe haven in the sovereign debt storm, keeping interest rates low for businesses, homeowners and families.

2. Cutting income tax for 25 million people.
On top of the rise in the personal allowance from April this year, the personal allowance for under 65s will increase by a further £630 to £8,105 in 2012-13. The combined impact of this increase and the increase announced at last year’s Budget, will benefit 25 million individuals by up to £326 a year in cash terms and means that a total of 1.1 million people will be lifted out of income tax altogether (HM Treasury, Budget 2011, 23 March 2011).

3. Freezing Council tax for the second year running.
Following the council tax freeze in 2011-12, the Government will provide one-off funding to local authorities to help them freeze council tax again in 2012-13 (HM Treasury, Press Release, 3 October 2011).

4. Biggest increase in the State Pension since 1948.
In April 2011, the Government introduced its triple lock which ensures that State Pensions will be uprated by earnings, prices or 2.5 per cent – whichever is highest. This means that from April next year, the basic state pension will rise by £5.30 per week – the biggest cash rise since 1948.

5. Cutting fuel duty, saving 10p per litre compared to Labour.
We are cancelling the planned 3p duty increase for January and ensuring fuel duty from August 2012 will be only 3p higher than it is now. Together with the cut in fuel duty at the last Budget and the scrapping of Labour’s fuel duty escalator, this means that from April 2011 fuel duty will be 10p per litre lower than it would have been under Labour (HM Treasury, Autumn Statement, 29 November 2011).

6. Introducing a permanent levy on the banks.
On 1 January 2011 the Government imposed a levy on the balance sheets of UK banks and building societies, and to the UK operations of banks from abroad. It is expected to raise £10 billion over the lifetime of this parliament, raising £2.5 billion a year – more than Labour’s one-off bonus tax (HM Treasury, Press Release, 1 January 2011;March Budget, 23 March 2011).

7. Getting credit flowing to small businesses and creating Enterprise Zones.
At the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced the Government’s credit easing policy to get £20 billion of cheaper funding to small businesses. The Government’s Merlin agreement with the banks will increase bank lending to small businesses by 15 per cent this year (HM Treasury, Autumn Statement, 29 November 2011). The Government has also introduced 24 new Enterprise Zones across the country, including in areas affected by potential job losses at BAE which will benefit from up to 100 per cent business rate discount, simplified planning regulations, new superfast broadband, allowing business rates growth to be retained by the local authority and reinvested in the local area, and the potential to use enhanced capital allowances with a strong focus on manufacturing.

8. More doctors, fewer managers, less bureaucracy.
Since the General Election, there are now 3,500 more doctors and 5,500 fewer managers working in the NHS (NHS Information Centre, Provisional Monthly NHS Hospital and Community Health Service Workforce Statistics in England, 22 November 2011). We are cutting NHS bureaucracy by £4.5 billion over the course of this Parliament and reinvesting every penny into frontline patient services (Department of Health, Health Bill Impact Assessment, 8 September 2011).

9. Better access to cancer drugs.
We have introduced a £200 million per year Cancer Drugs Fund which has already given over 5,000 patients access to the life-extending cancer drugs they need (Department of Health, Press Release, 27 October 2010).

10. Capping Housing Benefit.
We have taken steps to end Labour’s something for nothing culture by capping Housing Benefit from April this year. This stops the abuse under Labour where one family alone could get over £100,000 in Housing Benefit to live in areas that the hardworking families paying these bills could not afford themselves (HM Treasury, June Budget 2010).

11. Cutting billions in Whitehall waste.
In 2010-11 we cut £3.75 billion of central government waste - £550 million more than expected - including reducing spending on consultancy; on temporary staff; on marketing and advertising; on IT projects; on renting property; on major projects; and by renegotiating contracts with key suppliers (Cabinet Office, Press Release, 1 August 2011).

12. Bringing back the weekly bin collection.
A £250 million fund is being provided to help support councils deliver a weekly collection of household waste and enable councils to invest in schemes and projects that will benefit the environment (DCLG, Press Release, 30 September 2011).

13. The largest ever increase in the Child Tax Credit.
In April this year the Child Tax Credit increased by £225 – the largest increase ever. Next April it will go up by 5.2 per cent, a further increase of £135 (HM Treasury, Autumn Statement, 29 November 2011).

14. New directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners.
The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act creates directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners. These will ensure that the police are held to account
democratically at the ballot box, not bureaucratically by Whitehall. The taxpayer
will see better value for money as Commissioners, responsible for precept, will
focus relentlessly on driving up efficiency and shedding bureaucracy. Commissioners will reinforce the police’s link to the people they serve without interfering with their operational independence.

15. Many more good school places.
The first ever Free Schools – 24 of them – opened just 16 months after we came to power and by December more than a thousand schools had become Academies (DfE, Press Releases, 28 August 2011 and 4 October 2011).

16. Tough new powers on school discipline.
The Education Act, which received Royal Assent in November 2011, will help teachers raise standards and gives them new legal powers to root out poor behaviour. This includes a power for schools to search pupils without consent for any dangerous or banned items and the removal of restrictions that prevent schools from issuing detentions to pupils without providing 24 hours notice (DfE Press Release, 15 November 2011).

17. New Housing programme to get people onto the ladder and get Britain building.
In November 2011, the Government launched its ambitious Housing Strategy to break the cycle in which the lenders won’t lend, the builders can’t build and the buyers can’t buy. This will allow those hard-working families who play by the rules to own a decent home of their own. The Strategy will receive £400 million of funding and will target those schemes that have stalled through lack of development finance. This will help to unlock the construction of 16,000 homes and support up to 32,000 jobs (DCLG Press Release, 21 November 2011).

18. Standing up for Britain in Europe.
The Prime Minister was clear before the EU summit on 8-9 December that he would protect the national interest. He said we could only agree a new treaty if certain modest, reasonable and relevant safeguards were obtained. We couldn’t get those safeguards. A treaty within a treaty without safeguards wasn’t right for Britain, so we said no.

19. Introduced an EU Referendum Lock.
Our European Union Act ensures that in future the British people will have their say on any proposed transfer of powers from the UK to the EU. If in the future a change to the EU treaties that moves powers or areas of policy from the UK to the EU is proposed, the Government will have to get the British people’s consent in a national referendum before it can be agreed.

20. Leading international efforts to support the Libyan people in their hour of
need, preventing the massacre of thousands of innocent civilians by Colonel
Gaddafi and his troops and supporting their wish to elect their own, democratic
government (FCO Website).

I hope that this impressive summary gives a clear picture of the hard work and strong leadership which David Cameron and the coalition are giving for our country through these hard times.

Energy Summits

Energy Summit

I welcome calls for more action from  the Government's Energy Summit yesterday. It feels like a small step towards some radical change in the energy market. The energy summit should provide consumers with some relief before the winter sets in, with many suppliers pledging to freeze prices and offer additional help.All the major suppliers attended the energy summit, along with consumer groups such as Which?, government ministers including the Prime Minister, and the regulator, Ofgem.

There are several strands to getting our energy systems working better and cost effectively for everyone:
1.  to make energy more affordable. We need to tackle confusing and unfair energy tariffs and find out what complicated energy stories are happening to real people across the UK. This includes ensuring that people are not forced into direct debit payment methods which can be more expensive for consumers, as they are based on estimates.

2. Remind people about how to keep their bills down.   The government has launched a campaign to encourage people to 'Check, switch and insulate to save' – offering help and advice that could help them lower their energy bills in time for winter.

3. Ensure that Warm Front grants reach those most in need of wall cavity insulation or new efficient boilers installed to reduce bills. 

I have been tackling the Warm Front funding for several years, and whilst it is an excellent scheme, I remain unconvinced as to whether it is really reaching many of those in the North East, and particularly in rural areas, where dependence on oil has seen dramatic rises in fuel poverty in the last 2 years.

The Green Deal which the Department for Energy & Climate Change is rolling out will start to reverse years of wasted opportunity to create fuel & heat-efficient homes. The Government are talking about reaching all 26 million homes in the country, which would be excellent. Making the homes of those least able to cope with the financial pressures more sustainable through lower bills has to be the starting point. I will be watching for the detail from DECC in the weeks ahead. Another winter with no prospect of lower bills is going to leave many of those in rural Northumberland on fixed incomes with the impossible and unacceptable choice of whether to eat or heat. 

Broadband 4 Northumberland

The weather has definitely turned, and autumn is upon us. According to forecasters, by mid-November we will be deep in snow. Northumberland will take it all in its stride. Our natural optimism and resilience see us through most things.

But we are still being left behind in so many ways - in transport infrastructure investment, in technology investment, in supportive policies to encourage our great NE entrepreneurial spirit, even in our share of funding per child in our schools. So I have been continuing to lobby on all these fronts on behalf of Northumbrians.

The latest campaign is now being launched.... To help secure government funding for investment in broadband infrastructure.
Our website for the campaign is now up and running here and we are asking as many as possible, young and old, businesses and individuals, schools, clubs, homeworkers, to complete the survey. We have a short timescale in which to gather the views and needs of as many of our 270,000 population as possible. Armed with real messages we will prove to government just how vital investing in broadband is to ensure the rural Northumberland the world adores is not left behind in the technology revolution.

The Website above is hyperlinked; but its full address is www.broadband4northumberland.com