Moves by the Liberal Democrats to take localised action on climate change shows the party can lead the way on environmental issues, the party’s candidate for Lichfield and Burntwood has claimed.
Paul Ray will contest the seat at the 2019 General Election on 12th December.
He said that as well as national policies to increase renewable energy sources and committing £20billion to tackle climate change, the Lib Dems had shown a desire to raise the issue at a local level too.
“Environmental issues affect all our lives and we have to work closely with the UK’s European and global partners to tackle these,” he said. “So we have to stop Brexit if we are serious about the environment.
“The Lib Dems have shown that the UK can decarbonise and prosper. Thanks to our achievements in Government, renewable energy tripled.
“The Lib Dems have also been taking action locally on climate change. We recently brought a motion to Lichfield City Council for the council to recognise that a climate change emergency exists and agree to take this into account in future spending decisions.
“This was passed with support of all parties and the Lib Dems are now supporting a similar motion being brought by Labour to Lichfield District Council.”
The Lib Dem hopeful said the Tories could not be trusted to pursue green policies.
“We can become a global leader in green industries,” he said. “For example in Hull, 1,000 jobs have been created by Siemens’ investment in a state of the art wind turbine factory.
“The Conservatives have no credibility here – they’ve slashed subsidies for solar power and supported the expansion of Heathrow airport.
“Green technologies are there in abundance but we need strong political leadership on everything from tidal lagoons to a hydrogen economy.
“The Lib Dems, under Jo Swinson’s leadership, can deliver it.”
Candidates confirmed for the Lichfield seat at the General Election so far are:
- Michael Fabricant (Conservatives)
- John Madden (Independent)
- Andrea Muckley (Green Party)
- Paul Ray (Lib Dems)
- Dave Robertson (Labour)
