Richard Holden, Member of Parliament for North West Durham, has secured a key debate tomorrow in the House of Commons on the Future of Coal in the United Kingdom, which will be held tomorrow (3rd December 2020)
The debate, which Richard has gained the support of over forty MPs from across political parties, will be opened by him and is open to participation from MPs from all parties, and focuses on Britain’s need for coal within the steel manufacturing industry, the cement manufacturing industry and heritage rail. The debate is not about the return to use of coal for electricity production, which has been phased out. Instead the debate will be centred around the future of coal mining in the UK, where there are high environmental standards, or whether coal should be imported – the UK still needs over one million tonnes of coal a year for industry, especially for blast furnace steel manufacture in Port Talbot, cement manufacture and at least 30,000 tonnes a year for use in Britain’s heritage rail industry.
Britain has net imports of almost £1 Billion a year of coal, much of it shipped in bulk across the globe from Russia (which accounts for 40 per cent of imported coal) and Columbia. The environmental extraction processes are not as stringent in those countries and Richard will point out that bulk shipping coal around the world will count against the excellent progress that the Government has made in terms of protection of our oceans in recent years.
Richard put in for the debate as recently the Government refused consent for the Highthorn Mine in Northumberland, which would have employed 250 people in North East of England. Richard had the last open-cast coal mine in the U.K. in his North West Durham constituency until it was exhausted in August this year and many of his constituents would have moved to good, well paying jobs at the Highthorne site. There are currently two potential coal mines going through planning, one deep mine in Cumbria and one at Dewley Hill in Newcastle.
Richard has submitted Written Parliamentary Questions on coal before, which you can see here, here and here.
Commenting, Richard Holden, Member of Parliament for North West Durham, said
“I am delighted that the debate I have applied for on the future of coal in the United Kingdom will be taking place in the House of Commons this week. It’s such an important issue and the debate will focus on our UK industry, the environment and how we level up and support our communities in the North East.
“We will need to use coal for industry for some time, this can either employ hundreds, potentially thousands of people in the North of England and the wider area, or can be shipped in from across the globe. It’s especially important now as the environment becomes an ever-bigger consideration and, after this year, we are all looking for ways to ensure that our industries can stay local as we transition to cleaner energy.
“I am very much looking forward to leading on this debate and will continue to push for support for all industries and companies in North West Durham and the North East, ensuring that the Government continues to level up our areas.”
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