Charles Hendry MP: Why we shouldn't put a decarbonisation target in the Energy Bill this week

Charles Hendry is the MP for Wealden and is Chairman of Forewind.  He is a former Energy Minister.

As we wrestle with the joint challenges of delivering energy security in a low carbon and affordable way, the Committee on Climate Change’s latest report is a timely reminder of what is at stake.

To deliver on those aims, we have to rebuild our energy infrastructure, making up for a dismal failure to over past years secure the necessary levels of investment, and the Energy Bill, currently before parliament, is a vital instrument in securing that investment.

One of the key decisions for Parliament now is to decide whether we need to include a formal decarbonisation target in the Bill.  As an enthusiastic supporter of a low-carbon economy, I don’t think we do.

Charles Hendry MP: The Government's botched Post Office closure process

Charles Hendry MP, Shadow Minister for Postal Affairs, explains why the consultation process was a sham and Labour MPs should vote against the unnecessary closures.

Post offices are like any other business.  They have to move with the times, if they are to survive.

The debate that Conservatives have called today is not about whether they need to change, but how they should change.  As more and more people work online, traditional areas of business have declined. Government and other organisations are right to find the most efficient way of delivering their services.

So, if our post offices are to survive, the Government needs to have a positive vision for the role they should perform.  That is precisely what is missing today.

Ten years ago there were some 18,000 sub-post offices.  Today there are 14,000 and that figure will drop to 11,500 as a result of the closure programme.  One third of the whole network will have closed in little over ten years – a closure rate three times higher than ever in the past.

Worse than that, the Government simply does not have the policies to not guarantee a further decline of the network in future years. The process of gradual attrition will just continue.