Sitting down to write this Christmas message gives me time to reflect on 2015. It has been a year of challenges and a year of success, a year of sadness and a year of joy. Tragedies around the world have made me truly grateful to live in our wonderful country, protected by our armed forces, security agencies and emergency services and supported by family and friends.
I was incredibly grateful to be returned as MP for Tatton in May's General Election; the support of my constituents is not something I will ever take for granted. As I have said before, I represent all of my constituents, not just the ones who voted for me, and will continue to work hard to make Cheshire an even better place to live.
It has been an eventful year for the Alderley Edge area. The Connecting Cheshire Project continued to bring high-speed broadband to our rural homes and businesses. I was also pleased to announce that Alderley Park will be a crucial part of the new Cheshire Science Corridor Enterprise Zone, delivering 7000 new jobs in life science across the county. Life Sciences play a crucial role in our local economy and I am enormously proud of the innovative, world-beating companies that call Cheshire home. I will continue to back businesses and work hard to encourage investment in our county.
Education continues to be one of my top priorities and I was pleased to visit some of our fantastic local schools this year. Alderley Edge Community Primary School has some great new facilities and Nether Alderley staff and pupils have been working closely with Active Cheshire on their school garden, ensuring that children benefit from the great outdoors as well as the classroom.
I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Tatton MP George Osborne.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
Yeah, a few more hundred cases of emphysema in miners isn't important then?
Re-visit Aberfan why not?
Let's have a few graceful coal tips in Cheshire East?
Bring back the London smogs ?
bah humbug indeed.
They'll all get jobs in Mr Osbornes "Northern Powerhouse" - fighting Eastern Europeans for a few shelf-stacking jobs in the Pound Shop or for the chance to brandish a "shammy" at the local "Hand Car Wash" site.
Perhaps Columbians don't get emphysema..... and perhaps any conscience tweaks over the cost to the environment of hauling coal from one side of the world to the other can be assuaged by the good news that mining families can no longer afford to run a car and thus cant contribute to global warming.
Jeez, with the benefit of a couple of thousand years worth of experience we can't control the simple draining away of rainwater - can't we be forgiven for feeling a tad uneasy about allowing a "for profit" company to start blasting the tectonic plates from under our feet?
to cut to the quick; just don't burn coal unless it can be 100% free of pollution?
I come from a coal mining area; the sight of elderley ex-miners sitting in a pub coughing was not calculated to make me a supporter of the mining industry!
Merry Christmas back at you George etc etc.
Now onto the important stuff.
Turning our heads off to the human / emotional element of the fracking vs coal debate for a minute, both energy sources seem to get even honours in the environmental science assessment. Coal produces vast volumes of CO2 per MWH produced whilst Natural gas from fracking produces approximately half the amount of CO2 but, it is contended, produces a far more potent greenhouse gas in the form of methane caused by leakage during the extraction process.
The arguments gets a little more confused when you factor in the relatively short atmospheric life of methane (10 - 15 years) vs CO2 (10,000 years).
So it is difficult for someone like me (essentially an idiot) to understand which is worse from the conflicting scientific arguments. What I do think however is neither energy source covers itself in glory anymore.
I put the following tweet out recently during the COP21 summit:
"Wonder if the same fight to achieve #ManhattanProject applied to #nuclearfusion energy we'd be in a better place right now #cop21 #climatechange"
giving effect to the urgent need for a different approach.
http://bit.ly/1LHJIAq
Who could this villain be? George Gideon Olive Osborne, heir to the baronetcy of Ballentaylor and Ballylemon.
We're all in this together.
2 degrees Celsius. There is overwhelming agreement that we should limit the increase in global warming to this figure or risk a disastrous breakdown of any form of global order.
565 gigatons. This is the scientific estimate of the maximum amount of carbon dioxide that can be safely pumped into the atmosphere by 2050 if we are to maintain a reasonable hope of keeping to the 2 degrees limit.
2795 gigatons. This is the amount of carbon dioxide that would be released into the atmosphere if all known fossil fuel reserves were to be burned.
Therefore I think you will agree with me that we should:
- Work towards leaving existing reserves of fossil fuels in the ground. This includes the gas under the Cheshire Plain.
- Have a concerted drive to reduce the amount of energy we use by better insulation in all our buildings.
- Invest heavily in new technologies and non-fossil fuel energy.
I therefore think your present decisions to invest in fracking, to reduce the subsidies on renewable energies and to sell off the Green Investment Bank are totally misguided and a danger to our grandchildren.
Wishing you and your family a healthy and peaceful Christmas.
God bless those poor souls around the world who have never known peace or security.
Bah, humbug!