You would ask for the full price before agreeing to a new kitchen. Britain deserves the same common sense.
By Shane Oxer | Hope to Save Our Countryside
Imagine ordering a new kitchen. The salesman shows you gleaming cupboards, a beautiful worktop and a photograph of a delighted family. It all looks marvellous. Then you ask the obvious question: how much?
The cupboards, he explains, are excellent value. The wiring, plumbing, fitting and any unexpected work will be discussed later. Most of us would keep our pen in our pocket. A lovely brochure is no substitute for a complete quote.
Apply that same common sense to Britain’s energy transformation. Before households, businesses and the countryside carry the consequences, we deserve a clear account of the whole undertaking. That is why I started this parliamentary petition.
What is included in the price?
A solar panel or wind turbine is one part of an electricity system. Power also needs connections, cables, substations and a network capable of delivering it when people need it. Storage, backup, maintenance and replacement belong in the account too.
Our recent Highlands and Islands investigation followed some of that infrastructure. The lesson is straightforward: the price of an individual piece of equipment does not tell us the cost of the complete system.
For a family, the question is what reaches the electricity bill. For a business, it is whether dependable power will be affordable. For taxpayers, it is what public money must cover. People need those answers in language they can understand.
Show us the whole quote
Parliament should be able to set out the complete picture: what must be built, what it will cost, what is included, what remains uncertain and who will pay. It should compare practical alternatives for keeping Britain reliably supplied with affordable energy.
My petition calls for a temporary suspension of the Climate Change Act’s carbon-budget and 2050 Net Zero duties until Parliament has considered an independent national assessment of their full costs and impacts. That assessment should cover bills, industry, food and energy security, land and infrastructure.
You can hold different views about climate policy and still expect a proper account of the decisions being taken in your name. Asking the price is ordinary good sense. Government should meet at least the standard we expect when spending our own money.
If you agree, please sign and share the petition with someone who has yet to see it. Reaching 10,000 signatures requires a Government response. Every extra person brings that next step closer.
Your money. Your countryside. Your right to ask. MAKE THEM SHOW THE EVIDENCE.
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