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UK Government's Energy Policy

No, because we did not say that we were going to electrify to Pontypridd. One of the things that I am delighted about is the prospect of electrification as far as Pontypridd, although it is a prospect, not a reality. One of the other smoke and mirrors that we have seen from the Government in recent weeks, which was blown to cover the fact that we were not going as far as Swansea, was the promise of jam tomorrow for electrification of the valleys line. It would be terrific if it happened, but all that Ministers have committed to is to work with the Welsh Assembly to develop a business case. Well, our Government developed a business case for going as far as Swansea. So did Network Rail, which said that we should be going to Swansea. We cannot trust the Government on the issue. If it happens, we will be delighted, but we will wait to see whether it is delivered. Feed-in tariffs are another enormously important issue in Wales. All of us have, in our communities, the prospect of community-driven energy schemes predicated on the feed-in tariff and the energy that can be generated by photovoltaic cells. We were absolutely astounded that the blunt tool used by the Government to try to crack what is potentially a problem regarding solar farms on brownfield sites was to review the entire stratum of the framework. It does not make any sense and it is damaging, as we have heard, to great companies such as Kingspan and Sharp. It hamstrings the prospect of Wales benefiting from a new cluster of photovoltaic energy and damages communities such as mine and those of many hon. Members here, who had the prospect of new community electricity generation. That would have generated vital revenue and combated fuel poverty, which are two other issues that we heard about in relation to some of the communities in Wales that are most in need. I urge, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Delyn and my hon. Friends the Members for Wrexham and for Llanelli have done, the Minister to return to his colleagues at DECC, look again at the mechanism that is being deployed to try to tackle the issue and determine a different way forward. If we do not do that, it will be another short-sighted decision that sees us missing out. Many of the decisions have been met with widespread criticism in Wales. We have heard some of them described today. My right hon. Friend the Member for Delyn quoted a colleague working in the photovoltaic industry in his constituency, who referred to the ill-conceived and dangerously short-sighted measures that are being pursued. Such measures harm our environment and handicap our economy. Over the weekend, the Prime Minister declared war on the enemies of enterprise, as he put it in his speech in Cardiff. However, I would put it to him that in Wales, those enemies are not, as he implies, in local government, the National Assembly or the civil service. As far as enterprise and the economy in Wales are concerned, the enemies are sat around the Cabinet table at Transport, Energy and the Wales Office. In conclusion, I urge the Minister to be a friend to Wales and to take back to his colleagues the concerns that he has heard today. He should think again about preparing our ports for the offshore wind turbine revolution; about harnessing the power of our seas and delivering on the lagoons or a barrage as promised; about the feed-in tariffs and the impact of the review; about the fuel poverty that is blighting so many of our constituencies; about the need to reduce VAT on petrol; and about the rail electrification through to the ““ugly, lovely town”” in the west of Wales.