The way to lower energy bills is already being made in Britain |
For generations, Cannock Chase and other coal mining communities powered our nation.
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The mines in Cannock, Hednesford, Rugeley and our villages produced the fuel that kept British homes warm, and factories and power stations running. When the pits closed, the jobs and our identity went with them, and too many communities like the ones I represent were left without the identity and good jobs of our anchor industry.
That legacy still affects the people I represent, so when I see a real chance to make energy at home again and create good jobs in the process, I think it deserves to be taken seriously. Green gas is one of those chances.
The sector could support around 57,000 highly skilled jobs across the UK by 2050, paying around 20% above the national average, with the vast majority outside London and the South East. That works out at roughly 90 jobs in every constituency in the country. Engineers, technicians, plant operators and the hauliers who supply them: the kind of secure, well-paid work........