Conservative Neighbours Join Vital Committee

Conservative neighbours, Christopher Pincher, MP for Tamworth and Dan Byles, representing North Warwickshire & Bedworth, have both been elected to the Energy & Climate Change Select Committee, one of the most important in Westminster.  Select Committees scrutinise government legislation and have the power to question ministers and senior civil servants.

And as part of the changes made to parliamentary procedure, members of select committees are now directly elected by fellow MPs rather than being appointed by party whips.  This innovation will make the committees much more independent of the government and give their members real clout.  Being elected to two of just four committee places available to Conservative MPs is a big vote of confidence for Mr. Pincher and Mr. Byles.  The two new boys are delighted to have won their colleagues’ confidence so early in their political careers.  Neither has lost much time in making his mark.

Commenting on the news of their election Christopher Pincher said:

“Dan and I are friends and neighbours so am sure we will work well together.  Our energy needs over the next twenty years is going to be a crucial issue for government as we grapple with demand over supply  to keep the lights switched on.  Imported energy is likely to reach 50% of our total need in the next fifteen years which will be a problem if we cannot guarantee a safe supply at a reasonable price. Energy security and energy efficiency must be a priority for this government.”

Dan Byles said:

“It is a real privilege to have been elected to serve on the Energy & Climate Change Select Committee.

“I feel very strongly that we need reduce our dependence on imported energy, much of which comes from some of the world’s most unstable regions.

“I believe we need a diversified energy base which includes nuclear power, a greater use of liquefied natural gas, and we need more research into the use of dependable and predictable renewable sources such as tidal power. Carbon capture and ‘clean coal’ technologies also have the potential to allow us to make use of our large domestic coal reserves.”

“And the UK has dangerously low levels of gas storage compared with other European countries, something which the last government did precious little to address.”

“I intend to hold the Department for Energy & Climate Change firmly to account for how it deals with these serious strategic issues.”

The Energy & Climate Change Select Committee will hold its first meeting in July.