A leading Liberal Democrat suggested David Cameron was ‘full of c**p’ last night for wanting to ditch green levies on energy bills. The Coalition feud over environmental issues boiled over after the Daily Mail revealed that the Prime Minister has privately told ministers to ‘get rid of all this green c**p’ – a reference to the green taxes which are blamed for driving up energy bills. Treasury chief secretary Danny Alexander reacted furiously to the comments, saying the green levies, which add £112 to the average bill, were helping to insulate homes for the poor and invest in clean energy such as wind farms and solar panels. He told Sky News: ‘We’re engaged in a serious exercise to make sure that the costs of those things are not any more than they need to be. ‘But what’s being referred to here as “green c**p” is stuff, which is helping to insulate people’s homes to reduce the costs of their energy consumption – levies that help support investment in our country’s long-term energy needs. ‘That’s about helping people on low incomes, it’s about investment, it’s about jobs in this country. Anyone who thinks we should get rid of that is full of c**p, I would say.’ Nick Clegg also defended the green levies, saying: ‘It isn’t all c**p.’ He said he did not believe Mr Cameron had completely abandoned his pre-election commitment to the environment. ‘We both want to see policies, where we are in control of them in government, made as cost-effective as possible without cutting our commitment to reducing carbon commitments and looking after the environment,’ Mr Clegg said. Mr Cameron has publicly said he wants to ‘roll back’ green taxes in next month’s autumn statement. Yesterday’s row erupted after a senior Tory source revealed the Prime Minister’s message in private is far blunter. The source said: ‘He’s telling everyone: “We’ve got to get rid of all this green c**p.” He’s absolutely focused on it.’ Referring to Mr Cameron’s pre-election slogan ‘vote blue, go green’, the source said: ‘It’s vote blue, get real now.’ Downing Street yesterday said it ‘did not recognise’ the reported comments, although it stopped short of issuing a denial. A spokesman said the Prime Minister stood by his pledge to lead the ‘greenest government ever’. A Number 10 source said: ‘Mr Cameron has been quite clear about rolling back the impact of levies on energy bills, but only last week in Sri Lanka he was talking about the importance of tackling climate change.’ Speaking after a meeting to promote the HS2 rail line yesterday, Mr Cameron said he ‘of course’ still believed in the green agenda. He cited his support for HS2 and added: ‘We have got the world’s first green investment bank, we have got great support for our green technology industries. We have got the first nuclear power station since 1995. This is a Government investing in important green technologies.’ Environmental groups condemned Mr Cameron’s apparent change of heart. Greenpeace spokesman Joss Garman said: ‘If David Cameron thinks the road to electoral victory will be found in attacking the very policies he once passionately advocated then he is sorely mistaken. ‘The British electorate are a sophisticated bunch who will see through his chameleon tendencies and conclude this attack is not an act of leadership, but one of cowardice as he panders to the extreme wing of his own party and tries to claw back support from Ukip.’ But former Cabinet minister Peter Lilley, one of a handful of MPs to vote against Labour’s 2008 Climate Change Act, said: ‘There is no point in impoverishing this generation in the vague hope it might help some distant future generation.’
Posted on: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 08:38:20 +0000
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