Tory 'blue crap' means UK is falling behind in global switch to clean energy

Emergency budget confirms that the government is out of step with the rest of the world in its lack of credible policy for a secure and sustainable energy system

The government says that it wants a sustainable, secure and affordable energy system. Unfortunately, week-by-week since the general election, and now with the budget, it has made statements or policy changes that take us further away from that goal, and put us increasingly out of step with the rest of the world.

We have had the ending of subsidies for onshore wind farms - our cheapest low-carbon electricity resource - meaning that 250 cheap, clean, indigenous power projects will no longer be built. Reducing energy consumption is the cheapest way to reduce costs and carbon emissions, yet more than half of the Department of Energy and Climate Change's budget cuts are set to fall on energy efficiency measures, removing 40m from the 220m pot.