A green revolution
‘The revolution that is happening now relates to the Government’s response to climate change. I am not an environmental specialist, but I was struck on Wednesday by how many experts told me that the publication of the Government’s White Paper, its route map towards a lower carbon future, was in a limited way something of an historic moment. According to one who was previously deeply critical of the Government’s approach, Brown and the relevant ministers had gone through a profound sea change in their approach over the past two or three years.’ – Steve Richards, The Independent
‘In future, our homes will be green-proofed, for environmental as well as economic reasons. They will have smart meters to track energy use by the minute; they will also produce their own energy, potentially selling a surplus back into the grid. And there will be heat pumps and biomass boilers to produce energy for the wider community.’ – John Healey, The Independent
‘The government today gave the go-ahead for the construction of four eco-towns, offering 10,000 homes overall, which, it hopes, will showcase environmentally friendly living in the UK.’ – Alok Jha, The Guardian
’Seven of the UK’s leading supermarkets – who are all British Retail Consortium members – have met a tough target to halve the number of bags handed out by the end of May 2009. Their customers used almost 420m fewer carrier bags in the UK this May, compared with the same month in 2006 – an amazing 48% reduction.’ – Stephen Robertson, The Guardian
10,000 additional university places
‘Gordon Brown is to increase the number of university places by up to 10,000 this summer in response to signs that the recession will lead to a big surge in demand.’ – Patrick Wintour, The Guardian
EU President Blair?
‘Tony Blair is now an official candidate for the position of first president of Europe. But his ambition could be thwarted by a catch-22 – he may not secure the post unless he campaigns actively, yet he does not want to throw his hat into the ring unless he is sure of landing the job.’ – Andrew Grice, The Independent
’A new president could be the catalyst to start the juices flowing again. Could it be Blair? Britain is the EU’s most Eurosceptic country but in Blair, Britain has someone of standing and authority with an ability to communicate difficult messages in simple terms and do it in two languages. Europe could do worse. And if Blair does decide to go for it, the Tories should stop being curmudgeonly. The new job is not quite mission impossible but Blair has many of the qualities that might just make it work.’ – Denis MacShane, The Guardian
Trident debate
‘The future of Britain’s nuclear deterrent was in doubt yesterday after officials said that decisions over its replacement would be delayed until after the general election.’ – Robin Pagnamenta and Philip Webster, The Times