The campaign to stop the threatened closure of Kingston Hospital’s Accident and Emergency Unit and Maternity was without doubt the biggest local campaign I have ever run.

The response from local people was fabulous, and after we stimulated visits to the Hospital during the 2010 General Election from both Nick Clegg and David Cameron, I felt the political pendulum swing to our cause.

Published in Liberal Democrat Voice.

On 18th May Edward Davey opened the newly installed solar power (photovoltaic) system at King Athelstan Primary School.

Watching Her Majesty reading the Queen Speech in this her Diamond Jubilee year, I could only admire the way she delivered yet another speech her Ministers had written for her. Perhaps they all appear the same after a while.

The negative impact that spikes in global oil, gas and coal prices have on the UK could be reduced by over 50% in 2050 as a result of climate change policies, Edward Davey said today.

From Which:

The Big Switch initiative, in partnership with 38 Degrees, offers a possible £25 million of savings on energy bills – an average of £123 per household.

I will be supporting the local Green Open House weekend, organised by Transition Town Kingston.

From reNews Europe:

Edward Davey, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, argued onshore wind power is a cost effective and valuable part of the UK’s diverse energy mix.

From the Telegraph:

Last year George Osborne, the Chancellor, made it clear he was not willing to let climate change policies be a burden on British business.

“We should not price British business out of the global economy. If we burden them with endless social and environmental burdens - however worthy in their own right - then not only will we not achieve those goals but the businesses will fail, jobs will be lost and our country will be poorer,” he said.

However, in a speech to the Clean Energy Ministerial, a meeting of 23 ministers representing 80 per cent of the world’s energy use, in London, Mr Davey insisted that in a time of “scepticism and doubt”, the Coalition remain committed to being the “greenest Government ever”.

This article was published in Lib Dem Voice:

Liberal Democrats were at pains in the negotiations for the coalition to insist that if nuclear power stations were to be built in the UK that there should be no public subsidy. This position was reiterated by Chris Huhne in a statement to the House of Commons on October 18th 2010 as reported in his article on Lib Dem Voice. So I would like to allay Fiona Hall concerns expressed on Lib Dem Voice yesterday by clarifying that there has been absolutely no change in this position.

From the Surrey Comet:

One in three children are living below the poverty line in parts of Kingston and the numbers could rise when they are reassessed this summer.

Poverty-stricken children are still living in cramped, unheated homes, struggling at school, and having to deal with alcoholic or drug-taking parents, according to official reports.

...

Did you miss the Chancellor’s budget in March?

Were you aware the March budget announced large tax cuts for every average working person in Britain?

That this year’s budget contained a £3.5 billion tax cut to help people on low and middle incomes?

My Easter recess from Parliament didn’t go as planned.

My constituency work continued as scheduled. But my ministerial work changed dramatically, and my planned family break was cut short.

The reason? The strike threat by the fuel tanker drivers.

From the Telegraph

In a direct challenge to Tory eurosceptics, Ed Davey said it would be “reckless” and “unwise” to rule out joining the euro.

The Energy and Climate Change Secretary dismissed David Cameron’s veto of a new European Union treaty as nothing more than a “blip” in Britain’s relationship with Brussels.

From Sky News

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said: "The potential rewards from carbon capture and storage are immense: a technology that can de-carbonise coal and gas-fired power stations and large industrial emitters, allowing them to play a crucial part in the UK's low carbon future.