Want to know what your MP thinks about transition issues? In May 2010 we wrote to all four Parliamentary candidates for Richmond. Here are our questions, and  William Hague's answers. They pre-date any policy compromises that were later made to accommodate the coalition with the Lib Dems; but still, they make be useful for future reference.

1. How would you assist local people, businesses and industry in rural communities to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels, so that they are better prepared to cope as oil becomes more expensive and less accessible?

We will give every household a ‘green deal’ , the right to have home energy efficiency improvements worth up to £6,500. The upfront costs will be financed by the commercial sector, and repaid over 25 years through the savings on energy bills. This will open up a new market in energy efficiency, create tens of thousands of skilled jobs and cut carbon emissions.

We will also roll out smart meters to every home so that families can cut their bills and get paid for generating electricity from renewable sources such as solar panels.


2. What infrastructure changes does your party plan to enable a rapid transition by the UK towards a low carbon economy?

We will facilitate new nuclear power stations provided they are economically viable but not as an alternative to expanding renewable energy sources. We will undertake the necessary work to enable offshore wind and marine power generation to be connected to the national grid on a large scale. We will build a high speed rail line from London to Leeds and not build a third runway at Heathrow.

3. Oil-based mobility will eventually become a generally unaffordable luxury. How does your party’s transport policy take this into account, especially in relation to rural communities?

We intend to make the UK the first country in Europe to have most of its population connected to superfast broadband. We will also encourage research into new sources of energy such as hydrogen fuel cells. We will also set up a Green Investment Bank to help fund such work and create new Green ISAs to encourage investment in green technology companies.

4. Local planning regulations increasingly have to balance the different needs of the community in terms of the low carbon economy, environmental, cultural and aesthetic factors. Does your party’s climate change policy see a need for increasing central government influence in particular circumstances?

From central government we will protect the Green Belt rigorously and other areas of environmental importance to preserve landscape and wildlife. We will work with local councils to adopt a scheme that pays the public to recycle, in contrast to current plans for bin taxes that would fuel fly tipping and backyard burning.

We will also lead from the front, delivering a 10% reduction in carbon emissions from central government within 12 months of coming to office.

5. If you are elected as our MP, what will you do to offer public and practical support to local groups and networks, which are working to develop resilient communities and prepare for a low carbon future?

I will always be interested to work with or hear from local groups on this subject and feed their ideas directly into the heart of government, if indeed a Conservative Government is elected. I am also particularly interested to develop ideas with international application, since David Cameron has made clear that the UK must take a position of leadership on the global environment. Directing a larger share of EU resources to conservation of rain forests and changing domestic laws to prevent illegal logging are among my foreign policy priorities.