STAFFORD MP IS TO BE A MINISTER

  09 June 2009

Stafford’s MP David Kidney received a call from Prime Minister Gordon Brown last night and was offered his first ever job in Government as a Minister. David is to be the junior Minister in the Department of Energy & Climate Change. The Secretary of State is Ed Miliband MP and the ministers of State are Lord Philip Hunt and Joan Ruddock MP.

David says it is a proud moment for him:

“It is a privilege and an honour to be able to serve in government and I really believe that I can make a difference for the better in this Department. People are more aware now than ever before about the dangers created by climate change, the need for security of energy supplies and the need for affordable energy for both householders and businesses.

“I intend to play my part to the full in pressing ahead with the Government’s ambitious agenda for cutting emissions of greenhouse gases here in the UK as well as encouraging and helping other nations to do the same. I shall also want to give my personal drive to the Government’s aims of helping individuals and businesses to save energy and cut their energy costs. And I certainly want to promote further development of renewable energy sources like solar, wind, biomass, tidal and wave as well as the workforce skills that we will need for a much expanded renewable energy sector in the future.

“Right now I shall be on a steep upward learning curve as regards the life of a minister. I hope my constituents will be pleased for me. I wish to ask my constituents to be patient if for a short while I will be less accessible than they are used to because of my new duties.

“When Gordon Brown rang me with the news there was a sting in the tail. He says there is a limit by law on the number of Ministerial salaries – and he cannot pay me! At least my acceptance shows that I am motivated by the good I can do in this job and not the money and of course I shall still be receiving an MP’s pay.”