Press briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Cabinet, Petrol, Pay Awards, Super Casino, Road Pricing, Troops in Bosnia and Police Inquiry
Cabinet
The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that Cabinet discussed the environment with a presentation by David Miliband which was an overview of environmental policy. Asked if it was true that the Prime Minister had overruled Alistair Darling and had made an EU deal on the environment, the PMOS said what was true was that in terms of the EU and the G8 we believe that this is a critical year on energy and the environment. That has been echoed by Chancellor Merkel who has made energy the subject of the EU Spring Summit. We believe that we have to be ambitious and therefore we have to support the proposals for providing a EU wide target for renewables. We believe that it needs to be set out in a realistic way which would take into account the individual circumstances of each country. But we believe it is right to be ambitious in Europe because that then gives us the ability to ask other countries, including the United States, but also countries such as China and India, to also be ambitious in terms of their approach as well. There is a connection between the climate change bill and the EU energy review as well. The discussions come together.
Asked if this mornings presentation focussed on the energy white paper, the PMOS said no, it was more centred on climate change but as he had said there was a synergy between what you do on climate change and what you do on energy as well. Asked if by synergy that meant nuclear power plants being put out for consultation again, the PMOS said no. He added, with respect, that the energy review was about more than one subject. Nucelar undoubtedly part of that and we are explicit about that, but so too is renewables and there will be a significant increase in the commitment to renewables and to the percentage that they have in the overall energy market. There isn’t a single answer to either the issue of climate change or energy. What you have to have is a multiple approach.
Asked by the Independent why the Prime Minister thought that it was essential for him personally to be at the G8 and EU summit in June, the PMOS said that there were a number of issues coming to fruition which he has been working on for some time. Climate change is one of them, trade is another which he has been very centrally involved in from Gleneagles on, and even before Gleneagles, and there was a thread which ran from Gleneagles to the agenda which the German presidency has announced both for an EU presidency and the G8 summit in June. Asked where the energy summit would be held next week, the PMOS confirmed it would be in Brussels.
Asked if the Home Office was discussed at Cabinet this morning, the PMOS said it had not.
Petrol
Asked if there was any comment on the petrol problem, the PMOS said that he was not aware that the issue involved the Government, thankfully.
Pay Awards
Asked if the pay awards would be with relation to top peoples pay or everyone, the PMOS said that it would be overall but the lobby should take it from what the Chancellor would say at Treasury questions.
Super Casino
Asked if all the Cabinet supported Manchester for the site for the super casino, the PMSO said that Tessa Jowell would put down the Government position. Asked that they would all be voting when it came to the House, the PMOS said that Tessa Jowell would put down a Government position and we would announce the position at a later stage.
Road Pricing
Asked if the Prime Minister believed that the wave of congestions taxes introduced should be progressive, the PMOS said that the Prime Minister believes that first and foremost people have to recognise that doing nothing is not an option. If you look at the projection for congestion it is clear that doing nothing is not an option. What the Prime Minister then believes is that what we need to do is find out what works and what doesn’t work which is why we proposed ten pilot schemes, and then you come up with the proposals. There is a process of education for Government, for local authorities and for the public that we all have to go through. Simply reacting in a knee-jerk way to what people think the Government is proposing is not the way to go. People quite rightly feel strongly about this issue but what we have to do is have a mutual education exercise in which we all come to learn more about how we deal with this difficult issue. Asked what the difference between not having a knee-jerk reaction and the Prime Minster saying that the Government couldn’t proceed if everyone was opposed, the PMOS said that what the Prime Minister was acknowledging, as we did acknowledge, was that people feel very strongly about it. People equally feel strongly about congestion and feel very strongly that they want congestion dealt with as an issue. Those two position are somewhat contradictory but what the role of Government is, is to see how we can deal with congestion in a way which people recognise as being fair and dealing with the problem and actually offering a long term sustainable solution. What is absolutely clear is if you don’t look at the problem you will end up with something that people don’t want which is cities in which no one can move. That is not just bad in terms of the use of peoples time and terms of the environment, it is also bad for jobs. The BBC estimate quoted that if nothing was done about congestion in Manchester it would cost 30,000 jobs.
Asked if there was a time frame for the policy, the PMOS said that the pilot schemes will determine the pace by which we progress, but it is years not weeks.
Asked if the Daily Mirror’s view that the Prime Minister suggested that the wealthier should pay more, the PMOS said that there were all sorts of options which need to be considered, but that does not mean that the decisions have already been taken at this stage. We should not trivialise this debate by jumping ahead, grabbing headlines and saying that a story is Government policy. We need an intelligent debate, which means an intelligent media debate as well as an intelligent debate by people.
Troops in Bosnia
Asked is there were concerns of troop withdrawal after some had said that the UK had a moral obligation to remain in order to remove all the unexploded bombs, the PMOS said that first and foremost what should be done is people take a step back and recognise the progress that has been made. The progress that has been made because of a decision to intervene in an area where in the past people have not intervened and where shown we have the patience, including people in this country, and political efforts to get us to where we are, and to get us to the position where withdrawal was possible. What the experience in Bosnia has shown is that patience and political skill can help resolve a problem which has bedevilled that part of the world, not just for a few years or decades but for centuries. Firstly, that was what should be recognised. Secondly, in terms of the balance between the presence of troops and the withdrawal of troops that was a matter for the people on the ground. They were the best judge of when you should and shouldn’t make these kinds of decisions and we go with their judgement.
Police Inquiry
No.
Asked if the police had given any indication of when their inquiry is likely to conclude, the PMOS said, as he had said yesterday, that it was entirely a matter for the police not for No.10.
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