Ed Miliband has been accused of ‘killing UK industry on the altar of carbon’ by a leading industrialist, who urged any new prime minister to ‘bring sense’ to green policy.
Rob Flello, chief executive of Ceramics UK, which represents much of the ceramics industry, attacked ‘insane’ climate levies which undermine British firms.
The comments came after the Government announced it was launching a consultation on expanding the ‘Supercharger’ energy discount scheme, a scheme designed to cut energy costs for energy‑intensive industries, which could include Flello’s sector.
Officials said they were ‘encouraging the ceramics industry to engage with this review and submit all relevant evidence when the opportunity arises’.
But Flello said the move was ‘nonsense’ and that the Government could include the sector, which directly supports over 20,000 jobs, immediately without consultation or primary legislation.
He said the lack of immediate action could spell the end for 217-year-old Denby Pottery in Derbyshire, which has entered administration, and that the future of other firms could be in jeopardy due to sky-high energy prices and green taxes.
Eco targets: Energy secretary Ed Miliband has been urged to ease the government’s climate levies which bosses say are harming UK firms
Flello said: ‘This lack of an announcement means the industry has to cling on by its fingertips for that bit longer.’
Referring to Labour’s future leadership, he added: ‘Whoever comes in as the new prime minister, I hope they bring some sense into the whole carbon discussion.’
He also urged Miliband, the Energy Secretary and a senior Labour figure, to ‘wake up and realise climate change is a global issue not a domestic one and stop killing UK industry on the altar of carbon’.
Flello said that while UK ceramics manufacturers have invested £750million in recent years in decarbonising sites and switching to cleaner energy, competitors in other countries are still heavily polluting and often pay little attention to worker health, safety or welfare.
He said: ‘In just one example, while UK brick makers operate to the highest standards, they are up against competitors in countries like India where almost three-quarters of workers are in conditions linked to some form of slave labour, they are still using coal and have poor health and safety records.’
Flello said that the Government’s lack of help for industry means it is ‘as if they have turned their backs on the people who put their faith in the Labour Party’.
A government spokesman said: ‘The Government will continue to engage with the industry, trade unions and the sector’s main trade association, Ceramics UK, to better understand their challenges.’
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