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The Stop Stansted Expansion campaign, to which I am grateful for its excellent briefing, has estimated that if BAA’s current planning application for full use of the existing runway at Stansted were to be approved, an extra 80,000 flights a year would be generated, giving rise to 12 million tonnes of carbon dioxide, an increase of 5 million tonnes on present rates. If a second runway were to be built, emissions would rise to the equivalent of 23 million tonnes per year; in addition, there would be huge extra pressure on an already fragile infrastructure, such as road and rail links, for which no proper provision has been made.
These effects are replicated in all the proposals for UK airport expansion. To allow airport capacity to grow, knowing what we know now about the environmental effects of aviation, would be fundamentally irresponsible, benefiting nobody in the long term. I can put it no better than the Independent leader writer who wrote on 2 November:
“From now on, everything the Government does will be seen through the green prism of the Stern report. The last thing Britain needs—whether in 2030 or before—is anything that could be seen as facilitating more air travel”.
12.24 pm
Lord Bruce-Lockhart: My Lords, in making my maiden speech, I start by paying tribute to the Lord Bishop Campbell Hone of Wakefield, who was a Member of your Lordships' House in the 1940s and
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I feel a little bemused to be standing here, as I come with few qualifications except for a strong belief in democracy, an interest in all environmental matters, a passionate belief in the Kentish countryside and a belief in freedom, independence, responsibility, the law and social justice, and an admiration for all those who work at the front line of public services.
I deeply appreciate the kindness and courtesy and the warm welcome that I have received here. I hesitate as a new Member of the House to comment in any way on Lords reform. Because of my belief in democracy and because I share with so many people at the grass roots an admiration for the workings of your Lordships' House and its value to the democratic processes, I am deeply honoured to be here. At the same time, I hope that any reform will base itself on the value of democratic processes and not on any more transient priorities.
Yesterday I listened to the speech of the noble Lord, Lord Giddens. I have a confession to make in that I read his book The Third Way not once but twice, as I was simply trying to find out whether there was a credible ideology behind new Labour. If I disclosed what I felt on my second reading it would either show my own lack of understanding or, perhaps, be discourteous to the noble Lord, Lord Giddens. But I was very interested in something that he said yesterday when he drew our attention to not only unemployment but the number of people who are in employment.
After the luxury of a decade of a strong economy, some 7.5 million people are classified by the Government as economically inactive—aged between 16 and 65. In my own county of Kent, 18,000 people are unemployed but 150,000 are economically inactive. We need to do more to help the majority of those people who often through no fault of their own find themselves trapped in welfare dependency on the state. We need to help them through carefully supported steps into employment and into more independent and fulfilling lives. I welcome the fact that there is a welfare Bill. I very much admired President Clinton’s welfare Bill in the United States in the mid-1990s and I feel that we need something with that depth and courage, as it did so much to help the local economies and social fabric of the United States.
I have an interest in local government issues and very much welcome the fact that there is to be a Local Government Bill. What are the ambitions for reform and what is the state of local government and local democracy today? I believe that the ambitions for reform are well known and shared across the political divide. Broadly, there are four: first, there is the ambition and desire to improve the quality, value, choice and personalisation of public services, to widen opportunity and access, and ensure better customer care and public satisfaction; secondly, to enhance local government’s leadership role, and what Sir Michael Lyons has called the “placemaking” role;
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It is also universally recognised across the political divide that today the United Kingdom is simply unique in the high degree of central control that our Government exert across public services and local government in England. That is well understood but it has not always been so. In the 19th century, local government was often the pioneer of innovation. One thinks of the great civic corporations, such as Birmingham. People like Joseph Chamberlain were the innovators of reform; industrial, social and economic. They brought in new industry, pioneered running water, gas and electricity, and brought in wider social reform—the first universal education and healthcare. They were able to do that simply because they had the power.
When we look at the United Kingdom, we see today that the burden of bureaucracy—the array of plans, guidance and inspections, the 1,000 performance indicators and targets—has simply wasted the public’s money. At the same time, it has stifled the innovation, the enterprise and the local experience of frontline staff. It has denied local people, as local councillors, the chance to make local choices. In doing so, it has eroded local democracy itself.
What, then, do we wish to see in the Bill? We wish to see a Bill that strengthens local leadership and one that drives on both a deregulatory and a devolutionary line. Deregulation of the central control mechanisms is needed. In his report to the Treasury, Sir Peter Gershon said that the cost within Whitehall of central regulation of the wider public sector was some £8 billion, while regulating local government cost £2.5 billion, which did not even include the cost of compliance by local authorities. Some important steps were set out in the White Paper, but we need to ensure the commitment of all the spending departments across the Government. Indeed, we need to broaden them out to some of the areas that so far have not been reached.
It is perhaps the devolutionary aspect that is most important. I was encouraged during the summer by the clear commitments to devolution by the Prime Minister, Ruth Kelly and the Chancellor, but the White Paper was not strong on the devolutionary side. I welcomed the Treasury’s report, Devolved decision making, published in March. One of the aspects of that report is that it compared cities in England with cities in Europe. It said that the great English cities—Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool, Newcastle—today have only half the prosperity, half the GDP per head, of the great cities of Europe. It went on to conclude that the cities in Europe have far stronger devolved political autonomy.
I believe that that political autonomy is essential here if we are to drive greater economic prosperity. We have to understand that we cannot run the country as if one size fits all. Every city, town and county is unique. They all have different challenges, and all require their own unique local solutions. Therefore, that devolution of national and regional
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It can be said that devolution plays a part in getting closer to people on the ground. I will conclude with that challenge. From where I sit in local government, the need to strengthen local democracy is a major issue. There are simply too many people out there who feel disaffected by the political process and who feel that politicians of all parties, local and national, are not relevant to their lives. There is an erosion of trust and a cynicism about seemingly unreachable and remote governance delivering solutions. Some people say there is public apathy. I do not believe that is the case. People care deeply about the national issues of climate change or Iraq, and about local issues, such as their local school or hospital, their road, or whether their gran or child can walk safely to the shop on the corner of the street. But they are frustrated by their ability to influence the political processes.
Local government has to rise to the challenge of a more devolved system. We have to give people greater power and influence over their lives and over the future of the places where they live.
12.37 pm
Lord Bach: My Lords, it is a pleasure to be the first to congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Bruce-Lockhart, on his outstanding maiden speech. He comes to the House with a famous name and was of course a well-known figure in his own right before arriving here. He has a most distinguished record, particularly in local government. From his thoughtful speech it was clear why he advanced so quickly, first to the leadership of the Conservative group in Kent County Council, next to the leadership of the council itself, and then, a couple of years ago, to the pinnacle of local government, the chairmanship of the Local Government Association. He will add immensely to our debates, not only those on local government, but also on many other subjects. I look forward to hearing him speak, for example, on “The Third Way”.
I also take the opportunity to congratulate my noble friend Lady Jones of Whitchurch, whom I have had the pleasure of knowing for a long time, on her maiden speech and to say how much I am looking forward to the other two maiden speeches later today.
I know there is no anxiety so great as anticipating one’s own maiden speech, but I hope all those making one today will forgive me when I claim that mine is a semi-maiden speech too. This is the first time I have spoken in the House since my defenestration in May, and thus the first time I have spoken from the Back Benches in more than seven years. That seems a long time ago. I take this opportunity to thank the many Members on all sides of the House, and many in the other place as well, for their individual acts of support and kindness.
I shall speak briefly on agriculture and the farming community. I am deliberately not intending to speak today about the single payment issue, as two important Select Committees in the other place, before one of which recently I gave evidence, are close to finalising their important reports. All I will say
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Before moving to agriculture, I should like to say a quick word on local government. I, too, welcome the recent White Paper and congratulate my noble friend’s department on its positive and progressive agenda. I have one word of caution. I remember well the disastrous Local Government Act 1972, which forced great and proud self-governing cities such as my own, Leicester, to lose very many of their powers to the shire counties, whose inability to deal with urban issues was in some cases spectacular. The Conservatives themselves eventually righted this wrong some quarter of a century later and should be congratulated on having done so. If there must be larger districts and more unitary authorities—and I see the arguments for them—they should not be at the expense of these cities.
On agriculture, it is obvious that farmers and their families have been subject to the winds of change for a considerable time now. Change is never easy, and personally I admire hugely the manner in which so many farmers have adapted to their new world whether it has been by diversifying or changing their practices or in one of many other ways. Life is still difficult but I passionately believe that there are signs of real progress.
The Fresh Start initiative is just one of many initiatives that encourage new entrants and help to establish farmers. When I was in post I was very impressed—perhaps most impressed—by the English Farming and Food Partnership, which did great things in persuading farmers to try new methods, particularly to join together in partnerships for their mutual advantage. The whole sustainable farming and food agenda, superbly brought together by Sir Don Curry, to whom we all owe an enormous debt of gratitude, is, I believe, the only way forward for British agriculture.
The beef industry, which was in a bad way, has, I believe, had a shot in the arm. I called two summits together when I was in post and found a little extra money for the industry. That, along with the end of the beef export ban, are among my proudest memories, even though the ending of the ban ironically coincided almost to the day with my leaving office. I believe that 1,000 tonnes per week are currently being exported, which is almost up to the pre-1996 export level. That is a huge compliment to the industry.
The leadership of the Meat and Livestock Commission under Peter Barr has been nothing short of inspirational, as have been the efforts on behalf of the pig and lamb industry by Stewart Houston, John Cross and many others. The changes to the levy boards are well overdue, as is the emphasis on biomass and biofuels. All the farming unions enjoy
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So, all in all, there is much more positive news than is commonly acknowledged. If I have a criticism of the Front Bench of the main opposition party in both Houses, it is that I believe it is about time that it stopped being merely oppositionist and did something to boost the industry's confidence. To listen to the shadow farming Minister in another place, Mr Paice, farmers could be forgiven for thinking that British agriculture was on its last legs. Fortunately, many other Conservatives in both Houses have a better understanding of farmers and their families and refuse to play politics in such a sensitive area and at such a sensitive time. I should like to commend the way in which my noble friend Lord Rooker and his colleagues are taking forward a positive farming agenda.
I want to make just one final point. From my experience as Sustainable Farming and Food Minister, I became convinced of one thing. History will say that one of the most serious mistakes made by UK Governments of all colours in the second half of the last century was to allow the post-war subsidy system—that is, the payment of subsidy based almost wholly on production—to continue for so long. In the immediate post-war period such a system was defensible, and it may be fairly said that our entry into the EEC was conditional on supporting the subsidy system. However, that was in the early 1970s. What excuse can there be for the Government who were in power between 1979 and 1997 not seriously tackling our EU partners on this question of reform? Why did they, with their sceptical stance to most things European, so adamantly support the status quo on production subsidies? The answer, I am afraid, is to do with politics.
The consequences—and that is what matters—of the gross failure to replace an outdated and wasteful system are still being felt by farmers and the farming community today. By not grasping this issue and by shying away from it, by concentrating on fundamental reforms often cruel in their effect elsewhere in industry and by conveniently forgetting this vital reform, they were guilty of double standards and neglect. So this Government have had to do what their predecessor failed even to attempt. They have fought for reform in Europe and have succeeded in moving UK farming from a system submerged in an outdated culture of production subsidies to a new and modern approach in which farmers look to their markets and are encouraged to be entrepreneurial. Of course the change has not been easy. The fact that it has been postponed for so long makes it all the more difficult. However, I am convinced that there is a real future for farming now and that, at long last, a UK Government have had the strength and guts to take this reform on.
I end by commending the gracious Speech both in the subjects that we are debating today and in the other subjects that we will be debating in the next week or so. I believe that this Government have changed our country hugely for the better. I am proud
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12.47 pm
Lord Teverson: My Lords, I should like to take this opportunity to talk particularly about climate change. In the late 1970s I had the privilege of being a corporate economist for a very large freight company that used an awful lot of diesel and oil. I was paid at that time—it was an excellent job—to be a futurologist: to think about what would happen in the future and how as an organisation we should adapt to it. There was a great debate at that time about how long our energy resources would last. I presented to the main board of the company a very erudite paper that I wrote predicting that, without fail or hesitation, oil would probably run out within 15 years. I made that prediction in the late 1970s, and I was wrong.
One of the nice things about being an economist is that people usually do not look back at your previous predictions but pay attention to your present ones. Although many other economists and I were wrong in that prediction, does that mean that we should take no notice of such signals? I agree that we have to show some humility. However, if we had taken greater notice of the signals then and, rather than taking advantage of cheap oil, started to take action, we would not be facing the very large gap in our energy needs over the next 10 years that has been clearly identified in the Government’s recent energy White Paper, nor would the whole of Europe be facing an energy security crisis.
For those reasons, I very much welcome the fact that we have a Climate Change Bill, although, if I am honest about it, I am rather cautious about that legislation. Why? Because there is always a risk that legislation is somehow a substitute for real action; maybe I will come on to that later. There is also the record that we have at the moment. We already have, bravely, put in past Labour manifestos carbon targets for the future, but over the past three years we have had an increase in carbon emissions in the UK economy. Environmental and carbon taxation is becoming a smaller proportion of the tax take, not a larger one. In those ways, we have already been moving in the wrong direction.
I am also cautious about the likely contents of the Bill. It is difficult to understand completely what they are, but as I understand it, the Bill will include targets, an independent commission, enabling future legislation and better monitoring arrangements. That gives us aspirations in terms of those targets and in terms of future legislation. It also gives us assessment, in a carbon commission, and better monitoring of those emissions. However, it does not give us action. I do not see where the action is in the potential Bill.
In fact, that action is fairly straightforward to consider one way or the other. There are only a relatively limited number of things in the environmental—global warming, climate change—toolkit. We can change things by regulation, which, for instance, would be technical specifications on appliances or on domestic homes. Or we could
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One of the key areas for action has to be carbon pricing. We have two main ways in which that can be done: through emission trading systems—the European one has started and is moving into its second phase—or through carbon and environmental taxation. There is also another way, which is adaptation. If we get this all wrong, we start building sea walls and try to keep out the problem that we have already caused ourselves. It is salutary to remember from the Stern report and from other reports that, even if all emissions stopped now, we would still have that rise in temperature for at least another 50 years. Carbon does not go away for as long as two centuries—those are the lags and the leads that we are talking about in this area.
I say to the Government that it is excellent to have this legislation to enable change, but the real test will not be this Bill but the Finance Bill and Budgets in which we have to grasp the nettle of taking carbon and environmental taxation forward. The way that this will all really work, and move away from just good intentions for households and for industry, is by making real signals in pricing and markets that would change behaviour. That is the challenge.
As my noble friend Lord Redesdale said, at the moment there is a large degree of public goodwill towards this process. However, opinion surveys have shown—and we would understand this—that the public out there are extremely sceptical. Why are they sceptical? They see potential environmental taxation as an excuse to raise the total take of taxation rather than as something that is done for environmental reasons. We need a strong undertaking that environmental taxation will be fiscally neutral. It is only through such an undertaking, which the Government have not given, that we will keep the goodwill of the citizens to make sure that this type of taxation is allowed, can pass, and is welcomed by the electorate.
We have heard already that the United Kingdom emits some 2 per cent of carbon emissions globally. The United States is at 23 per cent. We think of China as being a smaller economy than ours, but that is no longer the case. We are now the fifth largest economy in the world. China already has some 15 per cent of emissions in comparison with our 2 per cent. That shows the strength of the Chinese economy and its effect on the issues that we are talking about today.
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