PowerSwitch

Michael Ancram (Conservative deputy) seems to be aware of Peak Oil, or something very like it. We need someone in his constituency to contact him and see where he stands, and make him aware of PowerSwitch. His constituency is Devizes in Wiltshire.

Check out this story here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4277472.stm

Conservative deputy leader Michael Ancram has warned those hoping to replace Michael Howard that they are ignoring the issue of energy.

Describing it as Britain's "greatest crisis", Mr Ancram told leadership hopefuls energy must be debated.

He said an "energy audit" was necessary with oil and gas reserves dwindling, and coal and nuclear unpopular.

Britain must consider more nuclear power, alongside increased investment in areas like biofuels, he said.

mikepepler wrote:Michael Ancram (Conservative deputy) seems to be aware of Peak Oil, or something very like it.

I imagine one of his researchers has picked up on the North Sea oil and gas decline rates (Unlike Saudia Arabia, we can in this country at least be proud that our decline is out in the open on the DTI website for everybody to see!) and has explained the implications to him. Britains economic free ride on the back of our own oil and gas will shortly be over. Gordon B isnt going to be able to fudge the figures for much longer. He will be forced to wield the knife on public spending or abandon his own borrowing rules. Balance of payments / Sterling crisis anybody?

skeptik wrote:

mikepepler wrote:Michael Ancram (Conservative deputy) seems to be aware of Peak Oil, or something very like it.

I imagine one of his researchers has picked up on the North Sea oil and gas decline rates (Unlike Saudia Arabia, we can in this country at least be proud that our decline is out in the open on the DTI website for everybody to see!) and has explained the implications to him. Britains economic free ride on the back of our own oil and gas will shortly be over. Gordon B isnt going to be able to fudge the figures for much longer. He will be forced to wield the knife on public spending or abandon his own borrowing rules. Balance of payments / Sterling crisis anybody?

The BOE will no doubt have to raise rates if GB doesn't reign in the trade deficit and public sector borrowing.

Both of which will get worse as the NS declines.

Get out of debt quick everyone!!

Wonderful!!

OK, but is anyone reading this in his constituency? Or maybe you know someone who is in it? The more MPs we can get on PowerSwitch the better, so we need someone to write to him.

Why not send him an invite to the conference next month?

It is unlikely you will get many MPs to use the forum. There are not that many MPs that really inhabit cyberspace to any material extent.

In any event I don't read all the threads. The busier things get the less I can read.

Still it is worth anyone checking
a) Whether their MP has signed the EDM about Peak Oil
b) If not contacting them to get them to do this.

Sounds like a job for Tattercoats, who is based in Wiltshire.

Alternatively, if we have a volunteer (and 1 volunteer only - we don't want a disorganised barrage) we could email him at ancramm@parliament.uk

johnhemming wrote:a) Whether their MP has signed the EDM about Peak Oil

When do they have to do it by? "My man" has said that he'll do it when he gets back in October. Is there a date which I have to push him for?


Peter.

ASAP!

PowerSwitchJames wrote:ASAP!

I've already asked him twice, and he's now promised to do it, so I can't really badger him again. But, if I know the "closing date", and I can see whether he's signed up a few days before, if he hasn't, I can send him a reminder, gentle-like


Peter.

Forgive my ignorance, but what is the EDM motion? I'd like to contact my MP soon and bring Peak Oil to their attention, if there is something immediate and practical they can do then I'd like to know. Likewise I have a colleague at work that has entered into a lengthy correspondance with his local MP on another matter, so I'm sure I could get him to sign as well. Once I know what it is all about.

Thanks in advance.

http://www.powerswitch.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=359

http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetai ... ESSION=875

Thanks, I'll get to work on it. I'm going to write up something that I can hand out to colleagues at work to send out to their local MPs. We come into work from all around London, must be able to get some of them to help out and cover quite a few MPs from in and around the capital.

The "Table office" opens on Monday 10th October. This EDM will run for the session (not quite sure when the session ends - a bit of an admission, but I am a newbie).

10th of October, that is just a week away. Does that mean the 10th is the cut off date, or is the end of the session when our chance ends? Looks like it will have to be phone calls rather than letters if it is the former, but there are several people I know I can count on to join in on this when I get back to work on Wednesday night. Got a couple of green friends up and down the country that will definitely fancy a bit of MP-bothering if it might help.

Thanks for giving us the opportunity to try and do something, even if it doesn't end up amounting to anything. Beats sitting around waiting for the end of the world twiddling our thumbs.

Edit: Depressing to note that while the Peak Oil EDM has only 18 signatures (just about all Labour and Lib Dem), there are 39 signatures on an EDM (mostly Conservative) objecting to a Welsh offshore wind farm!

http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetai ... ESSION=875

Can't let a bit of clean energy get in the way of tourism now can we? Shows just how little awareness there is in Parliament about what is coming. Makes getting some signatures even more important.