Local engagement in this campaign has really been such a game changer. It is so important to have supporters from the grassroots pushing this Bill to the top of the political tray.
That was Wera Hobhouse MP at our first community energy event in Parliament last week.
Ms Hobhouse sat on a panel with Hilary Benn MP, David Johnston MP, Will Handford (The National Trust’s Renewable Energy Programme Director), Tom Fyans (CPRE’s Interim CEO) and our Director Steve Shaw.
With all seats taken, people were packed in, crowded out the door and down the corridor. Some MPs and Peers who turned up were unable to physically enter the room – some stood in the corridor listening for over an hour, whilst others came back at the end to speak with us, offering to do more to help. This was a real show of the campaign’s strength in the halls of Parliament.
Halfway through the evening during the Q&A, Labour’s Energy Minister Dr Alan Whitehead announced that the Labour Front Bench are fully behind our improved version of the Local Electricity Bill, which we plan to have introduced into Parliament imminently (more info on that soon).
Thank you for backing this campaign and believing in it. As Wera Hobhouse said, you are the strength of this campaign. We have 312 MPs on board now but we need more support and activity to get the Government onside and see this over the line.
Click here to join our next Question Time
Save the date: we host a monthly session to answer your questions and discuss any updates to the campaign. It would be great to see you there on Monday 21st November at 5:30pm