Elect Roger Tattersall: an Engineer for Parliament

Aim

We need more experience and expertise in Parliament to keep the lights on at a fair price for all - Please support my campaign for election!

Project aim

We need more experience and expertise in Parliament to keep the lights on at a fair price for all - Please support my campaign for election!

About the project

Energy policy in the UK has been used as a political football by successive governments and a crisis point is on the horizon. The UK' power generation system is a big ship which takes a long time to turn.

We have to be realistic about our energy needs and how they can be fulfilled. The government's chief scientific adviser has stated that we must find the right balance between three key issues:

Energy security

Environmental impact

Energy price to consumers

Russia is going to cut off supplies through Ukraine, and pipe natural gas to Turkey instead. Three of Britains aging fleet of nuclear power stations are offline due to core shielding issues. They and several others are within a few years of the end of their designed life. The EU large combustion plant directive is forcing the UK to close coal fired power stations. Wind and solar energy are intermittent, and need to be backed up by privately owned diesel engined reserve due to the lack of traditional spinning reserve. This negates their purpose as clean energy sources.

Energy is currently too expensive and many families and pensioners are falling into fuel poverty, affecting health, which puts more strain on our NHS. We need innovative ways of producing energy in the UK which can lower prices, without impacting the environment more than we have to. Public opposition to shalegas development needs to be overcome with education and assurance that regulation will be good. A slow initial pace of development will allow the UK to develop its own expertise and engineering solutions, providing much needed employment in the north of England especially. But the longer we delay, the greater the risk that urgency will force a dash for gas with more sudden impacts.

The situation is serious, but Conservative and Labour leaders have their heads in the sand. We need a greater spread of experience, expertise and professional knowledge in parliament to avert the looming crisis in UK energy production.

As a qualified engineer with an additional degree in history of science, I can bring a broader perspective to bear on the urgent issues facing the UK in energy policy. Please help me get elected by supporting this funding project so I can get the relevant information out to voters who need to be well informed in their choice of representative in Parliament. I have experience in project management and leadership which will stand me in good stead.

The forthcoming election is a three-way marginal in my constituency of Pudsey, West Yorkshire. With your help, I can win this parliamentary seat and help bring sensible energy policy to the table at a national level.

Thank you for your support.

This project closed unsuccessfully on 15th May 2015