Energy

Great Britain's industry and infrastructure has been run down to a degree that will ensure our continued decline to a third world level.

Our steel manufacturing plant has all been destroyed or exported, and where we once made the finest steel in the world this has been sold off, or even given away. Our Ship Building industries are now closed, and even Royal Navy vessels are now sourced abroad. The motorcycle industry went very early on and the car and commercial companies followed.

Energy has likewise been systematically destroyed, as confirmed by the closure of all but a few small coal mines in favour of overseas-owned coal and oil. Recent governments have invested heavily in high cost renewable systems such as wind power which are unable to adequately meet our needs. With the sole exception of hydro-electric energy, no renewable source is stable enough to supply our electricity needs on the constant basis required by hospitals and industry. We are now told by energy chiefs that we must not expect electricity to always be available, rolling power cuts are now going to be inevitable.

Energy is now in a critical situation through the closure of older nuclear and coal powered plant. Gas is not stored, but bought as needed mainly from Russia. Electricity is brought from the French Nuclear Power Generators, who makes a handsome profit on these contracts.

We are now dependent on oil imports from the Middle East, Russian gas and coal from Eastern Europe. Such dependence on foreign energy makes us vulnerable to the demands of foreign interests just to keep the Britain with the essential energy.

Any nation that is dependent on energy imports, is not an independent nation.

We aim is to make Britain a totally independent nation which produces and supplies all its own energy needs.

Energy costs are rising as Britain's energy production capacity is diminished. North Sea oil now no longer produces enough to satisfy all our energy requirements.

Any nation that produces cheap energy for its manufacturing base will enable them in to have a competitive edge over foreign competitors.

The Freedom Democrats intend to:

1. Bridge the 30% projected energy shortfall by re-opening British coal mines with their estimated 500-year life, rather than depend on coal bought in from Eastern Europe. We must invest in new clean coal fired power stations. This will bridge our immediate deficit.
2. Invest in new, safe nuclear generating plant, this will give us a mid term breathing space to investigate and develop alternative technologies.
3. Invest only in renewable energy projects that are cost effective, as opposed to ideologically driven. They need to be fully evaluated before committing to full scale implementation.
4. Nuclear fusion has always been the pot at the end of the rainbow, research should continue to be funded as a possible long term solution.
5. Open up, for British use only, oil fields within our South Atlantic territorial waters.
6. Investigate all viable alternatives to our current oil based economy.