April 16, 2011
Scotland

UKIP blast ‘head in sand attitude’ over wind farms

The Southern Reporter, www.thesouthernreporter.co.uk 15 April 2011The Southern Reporter, www.thesouthernreporter.co.uk 15 April 2011

Bill Wright, number one on the South of Scotland regional list for the UK Independence Party, has accused the Lib Dems and the SNP of a “head in the sand mentality” over wind farms.

Following the standing-room-only hustings meeting in Lauder to address the proliferation of wind farms down the region’s central spine earlier this month, Mr Wright has claimed UKIP is the only party in the Scottish elections on May 5 which supports a full moratorium on such developments.

Mr Wright told us: “In national politics, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg cast doubt on the future for nuclear power by almost gleefully predicting that a review into existing plants would recommend higher and more costly safety standards.

“Mr Clegg went even further and insisted that no extra government money would be found to meet additional costs and suggested that energy firms would struggle to raise investment from the private sector as a result of the Japanese near-meltdown.

“These remarks highlight the shared Liberal Democrat approach with the SNP and their head-in-the-sand mentality, both haplessly clinging to a dream that Scotland will be the only country to run on renewable energy.

“Admirable as this may be, we need to act now to ensure that the British economy does not grind to a halt and that our coal-fired power plants are not closed by command of the EU, as they gleefully support more wind farms scattered around our beautiful countryside.

“UKIP is the only party in the Scottish elections to support a full moratorium on wind farms and we encourage voters in the South of Scotland to review our manifesto commitment on this.

“UKIP continues to support the reduction of taxes on fuel, while also supporting infrastructure development that is compatible with the development needs and wishes of local communities relating to energy production, mining, roads, hospitals, education and other public services.”


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/04/16/ukip-blast-head-in-sand-attitude-over-wind-farms/