Government back tracks on plans for green transport

North West Euro MP and EU Transport Chief Brian Simpson will today [Thursday 31st March] question UK Transport Secretary Philip Hammond on his commitment to giving Britain its "greenest government ever" at a meeting in Brussels.

In May 2010, David Cameron called for his new Coalition to be the "greenest government ever". Yet only weeks after Cameron and Clegg launched the long-awaited Carbon Plan, pledging UK support for EU cooperation, the Government has backed away from new EU environmentally-friendly transport plans.

"David Cameron and Nick Clegg are grandstanding on their ambitious environmental plans, yet they walk away at the first opportunity to work with the EU on these important issues", said Brian Simpson, Chair of the European Parliament Transport Committee and Senior Labour Euro MP.

When the European Commission unveiled the new proposals this week, designed to profoundly shift travel habits to reduce oil reliance and lower emissions, Transport Minister Norman Baker dismissed the plans. The measures include gradually cutting the number of petrol and diesel cars in cities in half by 2030 and encouraging commuters and holidaymakers to use trains for longer journeys.

Yet Baker mocked the plans and claimed that the Government “will not be banning cars from city centres any more than we’ll have rectangular bananas.”

Labour's Brian Simpson added, "The government pledged to lead the EU in building a low carbon economy and then it fails to support the important new set of green plans for transport. These inconsistencies are symptomatic of the confusion at the heart of this Tory-LibDem government".