March 7, 2013
England, Scotland, Wales

Cross-border turbine fight: Tories unite to fight windfarms

By Calum Ross | The Press and Journal | 6 March 2013 |

Senior Conservative politicians from Scotland, England and Wales are joining forces this week to present a united front in the battle against what they regard as the “growing scourge” of windfarms and their effect on communities across the UK.

Three leading Tories will join forces this week to step up their campaign against the “growing scourge” of windfarms across the UK.

Scottish MEP Struan Stevenson and Welsh MP Glyn Davies will symbolically unite with the head of the “Together Against Wind” pressure group, the English MP, Chris Heaton-Harris.

They are vowing to challenge “damaging green energy orthodox” in all corners of Britain and champion alternatives to the country’s “wasteful reliance” on windfarms.

The move could cause a headache for Prime Minister David Cameron by tapping into the frustration felt by many Conservative backbenchers over the schemes – and potentially deepening the divide between the Tories and their Liberal Democrat coalition partners.

The trio are due to launch an attack on green-energy policy in Westminster tomorrow. Last night, Mr Stevenson said: “I am delighted to be sharing the stage with these two principled critics of wind energy. It is symbolic of the growing awareness among individuals across the UK that our energy policy is badly askew.

“The public will not be swayed by the so-called clean, green wind turbine daydream any longer.

“The time has come for Scotland, England and Wales to rethink their relationship with wind turbines.

“We all stand to suffer from the growing scourge of these wind factories and the damage they do to our landscape, economy and national prosperity – all for a negligible return on energy and environmental benefit.”

Mr Heaton-Harris MP said: “The issue of windfarms is one which affects communities the length and breadth of Britain and it will be great to bring everyone together for this event.”

Mike Weir, Angus MP and the SNP’s energy spokesman at Westminster, defended the windfarm industry last night.

“Wind energy is already subject to strict planning guidelines and much consideration is taken over the positioning of turbines,” he said.

“Unless we embrace new energy such as wind we have no chance of addressing the serious issue of climate change.

“In Scotland, the development of offshore wind provides a huge employment opportunity with cross-over skills for those in the oil and gas industry.”