On the eve of the Referendum, our local MP, Nigel Adams and his MP friend Andrew Percy, paid for a full page ad in The Selby Times urging people to vote to leave the EU (see it HERE). He probably thinks we've all forgotten it but I kept a copy and I take a look at at it now and then. In the third paragraph this is what he declared:
"In our six years proudly representing the people of Selby and Goole, we have seen first hand, the destruction of highly skilled, well paid jobs in our area caused by EU regulations in the power and coal industries.
"With every job lost a family is affected. We believe enough is enough. It's time to take back control"
That couldn't be clearer could it? That rotten old EU did it, we had no control over it. Well, I have always wondered which specific EU Regulations they were. So, in May I asked Mr Adams and this is the reply I got:
"The EU’s Industrial Emissions Directive, is the main instrument regulating pollutant emissions from industrial plants. It entered into force in 2011 and sets EU-wide emission limits on large combustion plants for certain types of pollutants. Several countries which are heavily reliant on coal, were opposed to the changes, and the initiation of its regulations meant that many EU coal power plants were faced with either a reduction in their pollution or closure.
"Such regulations led to the closure of industry in my constituency, such as that of Kellingley Colliery as well as other coal plants across the rest of the UK. The stricter limits apply to all 2,900 large combustion plants in the EU, including coal-fired power stations and peat, oil and gas power plants, and will have to be met by 2021"
So, I began to do a bit of research. As far as I can see, the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) is EU Directive 2010/75 and passed through the EU parliament and the Council of the European Union in 2010, getting it's final vote on 8th November (see HERE - click on the PROCEDURE tab) and was adopted by being signed by the presidents of the Council and the EU parliament on 24th November 2010. It came into force on 6th January 2011, a summary of the legislation is HERE.
You might be asking yourself why I've gone to all this trouble. Well, you can see how the voting went on 8th November (HERE). Note it was unanimous - including the UK! That's right we voted FOR the IED!! It was UK government policy in other words.
All 27 members of the EU (it didn't include Croatia which only joined in 2013) voted FOR the directive.
Who was in power in 2010 when the directive was signed? Why it was the coalition with Nigel Adams' Conservative party in the lead role with 306 MPs. The Lib Dems had 57 seats, giving the government a decent working majority. I don't know who voted in Brussels on behalf of the government, it was probably Caroline Spelman, Conservative Environment minister who served between May 12th 2010 and 4th September 2012.
There we have it, confirmation if we needed it that the EU is an Aunt Sally, an easy target.
The government agrees a position on a policy, goes to Brussels and votes accordingly. When it suits the minister or MP, when there is public criticism or a backlash, they blame the EU for any downside. But if there is praise they take the plaudits for the upside. Air is getting cleaner? That's down to the government and me. Dirty factories pumping pollution out forced to close? That's the EU. See how it works? Easy isn't it? You really can't go wrong. And you get £77,379 a year salary plus expenses for that.
It's a grand life isn't it?
The government agrees a position on a policy, goes to Brussels and votes accordingly. When it suits the minister or MP, when there is public criticism or a backlash, they blame the EU for any downside. But if there is praise they take the plaudits for the upside. Air is getting cleaner? That's down to the government and me. Dirty factories pumping pollution out forced to close? That's the EU. See how it works? Easy isn't it? You really can't go wrong. And you get £77,379 a year salary plus expenses for that.
It's a grand life isn't it?
