Green plans will boost jobs and homes on the Isle of Wight (Isle of Wight Liberal Democrats)

Isle of Wight Liberal Democrats <info@iowlibdems.org.uk>

Green plans will boost jobs and homes on the Isle of Wight

January 7, 2009 12:00 AM

Jill Wareham, Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for the Island has given her backing to Liberal Democrat plans for investment in green schemes that will make homes warmer, cut energy bills and improve public transport. The plans, called "Green Road out of Recession", were announced just before Christmas by Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg MP.

The plans will cost £12.5bn, which would be paid for by scrapping the VAT cut. The vast majority of that money will be spent immediately, making a real impact on the economy and people's lives right away.

The proposals in "Green Road out of the Recession" include:

• A five-year programme to insulate every school and hospital, with 20% completed in the first year

• Funding insulation and energy efficiency for a million homes, with a £1,000 subsidy for a million more

• Building 40,000 extra zero-carbon social houses

• Installing energy and money saving smart meters in every home within five years

• Create a loan scheme to help meet capital expenditure for micro renewable and super energy efficiency measures. The loan would be repaid through payments within the utility bill linked to the property. We will subsidise the first 1m homes.

"The plans proposed by Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats would give an immediate boost to the economy here on the Isle of Wight," said Jill Wareham. "And by insulating people's homes, it will help thousands of residents whose heating bills have gone through the roof in the past year.

"The Conservative-run Isle of Wight Council is backtracking on their Eco-Island plans which include insulating homes, because of their wastefulness and mismanagement of the finances over the past three and half years.

Jill added "the VAT cut brought in by Labour hasn't helped people. Here on the Island, the Resources Cabinet member informed us the VAT cut was not being passed on.

"The Liberal Democrats are the only party with a detailed plan on how to put Britain on a green road out of recession."