Gordon Brown gives North East a check list of promises

Jul 4 2009 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal

Adrian Pearson witnessed Gordon Brown’s question time session in Newcastle.

GORDON Brown has left the region with a checklist of promises voters will be able to judge him against. In a sometimes heated question session in Newcastle the Prime Minister was asked to back renewable energy and offer his support on everything from life-saving cancer treatment to helping regional airports weather the recession.

The PM was speaking at the Discovery Museum to a roomful of Journal readers, business leaders and lifelong Labour supporters.

Alongside regional minister Nick Brown, the PM took questions as part of a national effort to convince voters he is the man for the job.

He backed efforts by business leaders to create a Great North Revolution built around changes such as the introduction of electric vehicles and clean coal technology.

But many will have felt disappointed with some of Mr Brown’s comments, which in some cases amounted to promises to have key ministers look into regional issues.

Karen Archbold, who lives in Great Bavington, near Kirkharle, Northumberland, told the PM it was unacceptable that some of the most beautiful parts of the UK were blighted by wind turbines.

But her efforts to convince the PM to distance himself from a claim by one minister that wind farm opponents were damaging the national interest ended unsuccessfully.

Ms Archbold said: “We have a situation where we have an absolute spate of wind farms. In the area where I live this is potentially eight separate wind farms with heights in excess of 125m turbines promoted by six different developers, all of who trot out the mantra of why they have to build in this small part of Northumberland.

“Would the Prime Minister agree that for the secretary of state for energy to describe local objections as totally unacceptable is unhelpful and further alienates a large tracts of rural voters who would otherwise be very supportive of the Government’s efforts?”

Mr Brown instead deflected the answer to regional minister Nick Brown, after first saying he would make sure Ed Miliband, the energy and climate change secretary, came to the North to address those concerns.