Last week, I wrote about the conference season and the focus on personality rather than a discussion of the big ideas. So I am very grateful to the constituent who sent me a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt which made the point somewhat more eloquently than I managed: “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.”
Chastened by Mrs Roosevelt’s words, I’m resisting the temptation to write about the endless stories of plots in the Cabinet other than to say that in the Tea Room and bars of the House of Commons, I haven’t once come across the febrile conversation that our newspapers insist we’re all engaged in. The reality is that we’re all pretty tired of this nonsense and would like to focus on the huge challenges that lie ahead.
Which is why last week’s launch of the Government’s Clean Growth Strategy was so refreshing. The Climate Change Minister set out a bold vision for how we will meet the commitments we’ve made for tackling climate change and she did so whilst making clear that this is a huge economic and industrial opportunity for the UK. For too long, we’ve allowed a narrative to exist which says that low energy bills and decarbonisation are mutually exclusive. They’re most definitely not. In fact, the smart, flexible, renewable energy system of the future will likely be cheaper.
Furthermore, by making the UK a global leader in both clean tech and green finance, we’ve got an opportunity to put ourselves in the vanguard in sectors that will play a key part in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We’ve already proven that we can decarbonise whilst maintaining economic growth to rival anyone in the G7. It’s time we all embraced the opportunities that Clean Growth give to both our environment and our economy.