Energy and Climate Change and Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

I absolutely agree. The Government's official advisory body on these matters is absolutely clear: we should not opt for another generation of nuclear power until somebody has come up with something that it and others, who are independent and not politicians, consider to be a safe method not just of storage, but of disposal. That has not been found. That is not my view; it is the view of those charged with advising the Government. My hon. Friend is completely right. The other day the Government defeated the Liberal Democrat motion on a 10 per cent. reduction in emissions next year. The Conservatives support that reduction today, and they supported it the other day, although I noticed that the Conservative shadow Chancellor and leader were not present to vote for it in the Commons. However, we are pleased to hear that the shadow Chancellor has now bought into it. I think that it is achievable, and if it is not, it should be an aspiration. The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, is on the Front Bench today, and in October her only real argument was, "We cannot do it, because we have already set targets which go to dates beyond that, and this would get in the way of those." I just say to her very simply—[Interruption.] I heard her argument and followed it carefully, but the Government set their policy before the 10:10 campaign was launched, and they believe—I could turn to what she said in reply to the debate—that to introduce a 10 per cent. reduction target for the next 12 months would confuse, complicate and undermine the longer-term strategy. I understand the argument, but I do not accept or believe it, and I do not think that the public believe it either. They still see a huge amount of waste from the public sector and the Government. The public expect the Government to lead, and that is why I intervened on the Secretary of State to say that I was saddened, although not entirely amazed, by his written answer to me explaining that at least half the Ministers and officials going to Copenhagen will fly there. Of all the places—[Interruption.] But it is a serious point. People are meant to set an example, so the Government must set an example. They have often made it clear that they are committed to a Copenhagen deal that averts climate crisis, and that they want to do the right thing for a sustainable future, but when the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs winds up the debate, he must acknowledge that they have to lead by action, not words. The Queen's Speech contained half as much as the public and the crisis needed. That was not enough, and this is the Government's last chance. These may be the last few months that they are in office, and I am afraid that, if they are trying to make up for lost time, they have not done so with the Queen's Speech.