Waves ahead of the rest…

Nuclear power is not and will never be a viable option for Scotland’s Energy consumption.

In 2008, the United Kingdom Government, with backing of Parliament gave the go ahead for a new wave of Nuclear Power Stations to be commissioned. With decommissioning costs set to soar about £80billion for the current Nuclear Power Stations, the thought of more decommissioning costs in the future, in times were the Conservative Government are trying to implement savage cuts to Welfare, Health and Education, is somewhat ludicrous.

 At the same time as the bombshell from Westminster, the Scottish Government announced that they would not allow planning permission in Scotland for any such Power Stations. It’s the vision of the Scottish Government to make Scotland nuclear free, in energy and in weaponry, at the quickest possible opportunity. It makes me proud of the Scottish Government that they have made this stance, one that is widely accepted by the Scottish people.

Scotland has, with the right investment, the potential to be world leaders in the production of renewable energy, whilst significantly reducing our carbon output. Currently, we are exceeding the target set by the Scottish Government, to have 18% of energy production coming from renewable sources by 2010 - we sit on 19% at the moment. Needless to say, Scotland is well on track to be creating 50% of its energy from renewable sources by the target date of 2020.

Scotland is a Renewable Energy Hotspot, with certain areas of the coast having the ability to create up to 10GW from tidal power. Tidal Power, the only predictable source of renewable energy, is currently estimated to be able to produce 20GW of energy, around 80TWh of energy. Offshore Wind Power is set to have the potential to power almost half of Scotland, by creating up to 25GW which equates to almost 100TWh of energy, and with the total onshore potential estimated to be able to creat 45TWh of energy. With these figures, Scotland could be well on the way to becoming a 100% renewable energy country in the very near future - something that won’t happen without continued investment.

The UK Government must be wary when it swings the sword of cuts, to ensure that Scotland still has the ability to invest in such a highly profitable venture as Renewable Energy. Scotland’s renewable energy production would be sold on to the National Grid, offsetting some of the rest of the UK’s carbon footprint, however – this will cost drastically more, if the current system in place, which charges Scotland more to sell on to the National Grid than the rest of the UK, is not changed.

The UK Government needs to take seriously consideration before implementing these savage cuts, to look to the future for sustainable energy production, and an all round more sustainable economy.

Stand Up and Be Heard…

Welcome back to my blog, it’s been over six months since my online server disaster which lost my series of blogs and discussions on Student Representation, so needless to say it has a struggle to find the drive to write more online blogs – but here it is.

On May 6th, the United Kingdom voted for a new Parliament. They voted for Labour to stop a Tory Government, promised with a Future that was Fair for All. They voted for the Liberal Democrats to stop a Tory Government, promised with Electoral Reform, Fairness and Change. They voted for the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru and others to stop a Tory Government. Only 36.1% of the population voted for the vicious cuts to public spending, the privatisation of the NHS and other public bodies, the selling of the Student Loans Company – and of course, David Cameron as Prime Minister.

The Liberal Democrats should be ashamed of themselves, promising the electorate Real, Fair Change, only for them to seize their only chance at power and join with the Conservative party which will probably see the end of their chance at ever leading the United Kingdom.

All shouldn’t be blamed on the Liberal Democrats for allowing the Conservatives to put these savage cuts in place, because the Labour Government have something to answer for. Naturally, The Lib Dems and Labour align in the political spectrum, as has been seen in Scotland where The Lib-Lab pact reigned from 1997 – 2007. However, with a lacklustre Leader, determined to hang on to power, they didn’t even come up with a strategy, nor a plan on how to engage with the Liberals and come up with a Coalition Agreement. When they finally met, Gordon Brown hadn’t briefed his negotiators, they didn’t have a strategy, and when Nick Clegg said he would only go in a coalition with the Labour Party if Brown stood down, he said no! Labour showed no signs of wanting a Coalition Government to work, and thus failing the electorate who voted for them and the other Centre-Left parties who were all in agreement that anything but a Tory Government was for the best.

All three of the major parties in the General Election failed the electorate that voted for them, and now we have to pay the price. How can that be democracy?

We live in a society that when we come together, as a collective, and campaign about something – the politicians have to listen – it’s their job. However, we live in a society were the campaigners are seen as some kind of Hippy-type. The electorate doesn’t have the confidence to make changes, when it’s the electorate that have the real power.

It’s time that the 63.9% of the population, who voted for a forward thinking, centre-socialist Government to come together, and create The Coalition of Resistance, as Tony Benn quite rightly calls for.

It is not right that the minorities in our society, and those that are least represented in our Political Movement, are having to face the burden of the most savage cuts since the 1930s. Women are set to face 75% of the burden of these cuts, affecting welfare, education, health, policing etc. with other minority groups such as Disabled, LGBT, Students and other Minority Communities being hit the hardest.

Our society accepts that the top 1% of the population earn 50% of the wealth of the United Kingdom. How can we sit back and accept that as the norm when the poorest in our community are set to become even poorer, with unemployment set to soar?

Our society needs to join together as a whole, to condemn the cuts and the tax rises that will affect the poorest, when those who earn the most will not see a change in their already wealthy lifestyle. Those who rely on Public Services will suffer, whilst those who can afford to “go private” shall not.

We, the electorate, need to have the confidence to stand up in numbers against the unnecessary cuts to our public services. We, the electorate did not manufacture the banking crisis and the economic downturn. We, therefore, should not have to pay the price in public service cuts, whilst the bankers and the well-off will not suffer.

I therefore ask all of you, to join with me and the Coalition of Resistance in an organised fight against the Con-Dem Coalition, to fight to save our Public Services and Public Investment so that it is there for our future generations, and the current generations who need it most.

I’ve signed Tony Benn’s statement, and you can too. Log on to the Coalition of Resistance blog http://coalitionofresistance.wordpress.com/ , email coalitionofresistance@mail.com and say NO to these savage cuts. Have confidence in yourself, email your MP and find out their stance on the cuts, start to collect signatures for the Coalition of Resistance and start the fight. Together, we are stronger. Together, we can stand up and be heard.

Together, we can win the fight.