SUSTAINABLE ENERGY BILL - Moving on to the House of Lords!
Today (July 4th 2003) the Sustainable Energy Bill completed its Third Reading in the House of Commons.
It now moves to the House of Lords for consideration. It will be piloted by Baroness Maddock, who (as an MP) was the sponsor of the 1995 Home Energy Conservation Act.
The amendments moved by the two Conservative ex-ministers, Christopher Chope and Edward Leigh, were withdrawn just before the deadline. We understand that they - and indeed the party leader - had received a quite unprecedented reaction to their last minute involvement over the past 36 hours, which undoubtedly influenced their eventual decision not to damage the Bill's progress.
The sponsor, Brian White MP, and all those involved with promoting the Sustainable Energy Bill are extremely grateful to all those who took the time and trouble to make their views known. It was undoubtedly a necessary exercise. The good news is that it was also effective.