Politics

PM has no long-term energy policy

ANAGREEMENT by the European Union, supported by G7 countries and Australia, to impose a price cap on oil prices to “… prevent Russia from profiting from its war of aggression against Ukraine…” is to come into effect from December 5.

The aim is to “…support stability in global energy markets and to minimise negative economic spillovers of Russia’s war of aggression, especially on low and middle-income countries, who have felt the impacts of Putin’s war disproportionately…”

This is welcome news. Action that reduces the loss of life and destruction in Ukraine, and simultaneously reduces widespread misery caused by the detrimental impact of inflated energy costs, is a step in the right direction.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the UK would not waver in its support and would continue to look for new ways to “…clamp down on Putin’s funding streams…”

Unfortunately, energy giant BP does not share that commitment according to the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s economic adviser Oleg Ustenko. Ustenko has written to BP’s chief executive, Bernard Looney, to demand the British company cut ties with the state-controlled Russian firm Rosneft, nine months after announcing its intention to leave the country.

The FTSE 100 company vowed to end its shareholding in late February after Russia invaded Ukraine. BP has a 19.75% stake in Rosneft, one of the Kremlin’s most important oil assets.

Ustenko has called on BP to exit Russia entirely after the fossil fuel firm was offered a £580m dividend by the oil giant Rosneft.

The Labour MP Margaret Hodge, said: “Britain is trying to close down Russia’s oil market, yet BP is colluding with it. Any dividends going to BP should be repurposed by our government to help with the reconstruction of Ukraine.”

While a reduction in domestic energy costs will undoubtedly benefit everyone, once again we have an energy company continuing with unethical profiteering.

The sooner we reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and move more rapidly towards renewable energy the better.

However, once again it is apparent from the latest rift within the Conservative party over the decision whether or not to lift the ban on onshore wind energy development that the government has no clear policy, long-term plan, or strategy to identify exactly how that is to be achieved.

Declaring a climate emergency is meaningless with a lack of investment and commitment to prioritise renewable energy.

There is little indication of either from the government.

Cllr John Wells Labour Chair of Environment and Climate Committee (Salisbury City Council)

How to solve the ambulance crisis...

THIS week, a resident told me they had watched an elderly lady trip outside Waterstones on the High Street and badly injure themselves.

So badly an ambulance was called for.

The poor lady then waited two and a half hours for assistance.

Unfortunately, this story is not unusual; we all know someone who has struggled to get help via our local hospital.

The Conservative government is to blame for the deterioration of our ambulance delays, which had led to significantly longer waiting times in recent years. In fact, the average response time has increased by 63% for Category 2 calls since 2019. This means that a person who suffers a heart attack is, on average, waiting over 55 minutes for help in Wiltshire.

This data was obtained through a Freedom of Information request by the Liberal Democrats, and we are calling for urgent action to tackle local ambulance delays and support our hospital.

Paramedics on the frontline do an incredible job day in day out, looking after people in their time of need. But our overstretched NHS services are collapsing under the strain of years of neglect under this chaotic Conservative government.

Victoria Charleston Lib Dems Parliamentary Spokesperson for Salisbury Constituency

According to the data obtained, the longest someone has had to wait to be admitted into Salisbury’s A&E was over 29 hours.This is appalling and no reflection on our NHS staff but a chilling demonstration of the strain they are facing right now due to shoddy policy decisions.

I am calling for a five point winter plan to address the ambulance crisis:

First, we must address the dangerous staffing levels by launching a campaign to retain, recruit and train paramedics and other ambulance service staff.

Second, we must enable those who are medically well enough to be discharged from hospital and set up with appropriate social care and support via a fully funded programme. There is quite literally no space in our hospitals for incoming patients.

Third, hospital capacity must be increased, and new beds must come with increases in staff to care for those extra patients.

Fourth, expanded mental health support services would help people access appropriate care and reduce the number of call outs for ambulances for mental health reasons. Some hospitals have established ‘emergency mental health departments’ to achieve this.

Finally, Daisy Cooper MP has brought forward an Ambulance Waiting Times Bill that would require accessible, localised reports of ambulance response times to be published. This would ensure that ‘hot spots’ with some of the longest waiting times can be identified routinely.

I am proud to live in a country where anyone, no matter their age, employment status, income can access world-leading medical care, and it is heartbreaking to hear every day another NHS professional speaking on the radio about the dire state they are working in. I used to wonder what more needed to happen before this Government would take our health system seriously, but now I realise that a change of government is the only solution.