Danny Alexander: Tories wanting to axe green levies are 'full of crap'

 
'Dead body': Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander (Picture: PA
PA
21 November 2013
WEST END FINAL

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The Coalition was at war today over green levies with a senior Liberal Democrat accusing Tories who seek to axe them to keep down energy bills of being “full of crap”.

Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, launched the extraordinary attack on Conservatives as Downing Street was forced to deny a report that Prime Minister David Cameron had told aides to “get rid of all this green crap”.

Mr Alexander, deputy to Chancellor George Osborne — who is seen as wanting to prioritise economic growth ahead of the green agenda — said the environmental measures were aimed at insulating homes for the poor, investment in energy for the future and creating tens of thousands of jobs. “Anyone who thinks we should get rid of that is full of crap,” he told Sky News.

'Dead body': Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander (Picture: PA
PA

He hit out just hours after Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg also insisted that green levies are not “all crap”, vowing that the Coalition was not going to ditch the long-term environmental plans which have pushed up energy bills. He also said the Government was considering paying for the Warm Homes Discount, which gives £135 to two million poor households, through general taxation rather than adding it to fuel bills.

Faced with Tory calls for the Coalition to ditch green levies, Mr Clegg added: “Of course we’re going to try and reduce the costs of them — and we’re looking at different options of doing that — but we’re not going to abandon the long-term objective of making sure that we reinvest in our energy infrastructure to keep the lights on.”

Labour leader Ed Miliband struck a chord with voters with his pledge to freeze energy bills for 18 months if his party wins power in 2015.

The Sun reported that the Prime Minister was making a major U-turn on environmental issues, and ordering aides to strip out green levies which push up energy bills.

It quoted an unnamed senior Tory source as saying: “The Prime Minister is going round No 10 saying ‘We have got to get rid of all this green crap’. He is totally focused on it. We used to say ‘Vote Blue, Go Green’, now it’s ‘Vote Blue, Get Real’.”

But Downing Street sought to play down the report, with a source saying: “We do not recognise this phrase that they are using on their front page.”

Mr Cameron has regularly stated his determination to lead the “greenest government ever”. But he dismayed some environmentalists when told the House of Commons last month that he wanted to “roll back” the green levies which add an average £112 a year to households’ energy bills to fund renewable power subsidies and programmes to insulate homes.

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