Labour Minister for South West strongly supports incinerator plan

 Labour Minister for South West strongly supports incinerator plan

In a letter to the Bristol Evening Post earlier this month, Labour Minister for the South West, Ben Bradshaw has strongly criticised Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors for not supporting the building of an incinerator near Bristol.  He praises “modern, clean waste-to-energy plants”, claiming they are common in Germany and the Netherlands.  The letter is written in his capacity as Minister for the South West.  In stark contrast, Gloucestershire’s Labour MPs Parmjit Dhanda and David Drew have argued exactly the opposite.  Despite there being no plans for an incinerator in Gloucestershire, they have published leaflets condemning “council plans” for a “ten-story incinerator” in the county.

Cllr Stan Waddington, Cabinet Member for the Environment, commented:

“I've said all along that I have no preference as to the type of technology that Gloucestershire uses to get rid of its residual waste, but I want the solution to be safe and to be green.  What is clear here is that the Labour Minister for the South West is very positive indeed about incineration – indeed it would appear that this is official Government policy.  Parmjit Dhanda and David Drew are saying one thing in Gloucestershire whilst their Government does exactly the opposite in Westminster – and Bristol!”