The town of Whitehaven sits in part of what was once the industrial North West coast of England, the towns of Barrow in Furness, Workington, and Whitehaven were part of an industrial powerhouse of ports, ship building, steel works, coal and iron processing and exporting.
But now, in the post-industrial age of carbon-neutral, net-zero and green energy, the old industries are hated by the Eco-Greens and are no longer wanted by the ‘progressives’ of the Left. Middle class ‘Greens’ and Eco-politicals ignore the benefits of employment for the White British working-class population of western Cumbria, in pursuit of their own ideological commitment to ‘Net-Zero’ and the ‘Climate Crisis’.
The planned ‘Net zero coalmine’ by the West Cumbria Mining company was originally granted permission by the former government, and this was the situation prior to the Labour Party taking power after the recent General Election. The mainstream media were cautious in their reporting of Tory plans to develop a new coal mine.
“The UK Government has approved controversial plans for a new coal mine in Cumbria, which will become the first deep coal mine in the UK for more than 30 years.” The decision has been considered by Communities Secretary Michael Gove, who says he is satisfied that there is currently a UK and European market for the coal and that it is highly likely that a global demand would remain.
He said that he agreed with the recommendation of a planning inspector to approve the mine, on condition of an underground conveyor being constructed using a specific technique. Mr Gove also stated that “the proposed development would have an overall neutral effect on climate change and is thus consistent with government policies for meeting the challenge of climate change and the jobs provided by the proposed development would make a significant contribution to the local economy, both directly and due to a multiplier effect.”
He did acknowledge that “substantial harm would occur to the character and appearance of the Pow Beck Valley.” A decision on whether to grant permission for the colliery near Whitehaven was originally due on or before 7 July but has been delayed three times. West Cumbria Mining says the mine at Woodhouse Colliery will create at least 500 jobs, mostly for local people.
The site will be used to extract coking coal, used in the steel making industry, from under the Irish Sea. West Cumbria Mining says the site will mine up to 3.1 million tonnes of coal per year. Coal of this quality is a highly strategic mineral resource. The highly valuable coal reserves lie under the Irish Sea offshore from western Cumbria and would provide decades of work and employment opportunities.
More previous media reports;
“Michael Gove has approved the first new UK coal mine in 30 years despite concern about its climate impacts among Conservative MPs and experts. The proposed mine in Cumbria would dig up coking coal for steel production in the UK and across the world.
“Critics say the mine would undermine climate targets and demand for coking coal is declining. But supporters claim the mine, near Whitehaven, will create jobs and reduce the need to import coal. The fate of the West Cumbria Mining project had been hanging in the balance for two years after the local county council initially approved the mine in 2020.”
The new Labour government of Sir Keir Starmer has a very different outlook and the Labour Party now appears to have turned its back on the working class communities that were the backbone of heavy industry in regions like the coastal towns of Cumbria.
The new Labour government has the former (failed) Labour Party leader of the pre-Jeremy Corbyn period, Ed Miliband in charge of energy and he has the grand title of Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero of the United Kingdom. Miliband has his eyes set on a second chance at a place in history by becoming the great advocate for ‘Green energy’ and the vision of a ‘carbon neutral’ UK energy market.
Certainly Ed Miliband has made his hostility to the old heavy industries which rely on fossil fuels like coal, coke and oil very clear. He is being backed in this by his cabinet colleague Angela Rayner, who also has an impressive title as the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
In fact, it is Angela Rayner who has spearheaded the legal action against West Cumbria Mining with a view to cancelling the planning permissions and shutting down the WCM project before it could be properly started. As the Labour government seeks to overturn the earlier planning permissions, the Environmental lobby have seized the moment, their press statement says;
“Protestors will hold a rally in support of two legal challenges against plans to build a controversial new coal mine in Whitehaven. Planning permission was granted by the then Secretary of State for Communities, Michael Gove, for the Woodhouse Colliery site in December 2022.
“Following the approval, campaign groups South Lakes Action on Climate Change and Friends of the Earth launched legal challenges, claiming that Mr Gove “failed to account for the significant climate impacts of the mine”, thus rendering the decision unlawful. Last week, the government accepted that there was an error of law in the decision to grant the planning permission and said it would no longer be defending the claims.”
Ruth Balogh, from West Cumbria and North Lakes Friends of the Earth, said: “West Cumbria desperately needs investment in new green jobs to breathe life into a clean and affordable future.
“We invite local residents to join us to oppose the Whitehaven coal mine and recognise that while coal is our heritage, climate jobs are our future.”
Back in the mists of time during the Miner’s Strike in the 1984/85 period, the Labour Party and the Trade Union Movement backed coal mining, proposed an NUM sponsored policy document entitled The Plan for Coal, and widely condemned the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher for shutting down the British coal mining industry and devastating mining communities.
But now in 2024, the Labour Party has turned its back on all that and has embraced the ‘Green Agenda’, now ‘coal’ is literally a dirty word to Labour politicians.
The Woodhouse Colliery plan for West Cumbria would once have been a prime focus for the Labour Party and the trade unions, but now that historic connection has gone. The Labour Party, the liberal and progressives of the socialist Left have gone Green and industrial workers no longer enter their thinking.
British Movement is a National Socialist organisation dedicated to the principles of Blood and Soil, and
environmental protection is prime component of that thinking. Environmental destruction and pollution by heavy industry are not part of the NS agenda, but there are other ways to develop for the future and the blind adherence of the mainstream political parties to the exaggerations of ‘Climate Crisis’ and ‘Net Zero at any cost’ is not the way.
Credits:
Top Image: Cumbria.
Lower Image: Number 10, OGL 3, via Wikimedia Commons.
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