Lib Dem MEP Rebecca Taylor has slammed Conservatives who voted against the interests of UK manufacturing in an EU vote today (Wednesday).
Conservatives MEPs rejected proposals to backload the continents Emissions Trading Scheme, which sets a price for industrial carbon dioxide emissions, in an effort to combat climate change , despite the fact that it was Coalition government policy to support backloading.
Carbon prices in the UK leave UK manufacturers paying more for their electricity than their continental competitors and the EU plans would have reduced that gap. The vote was lost by 334 to 315 votes.
This puts UK manufacturing industry at a real disadvantage compared to Germany or the Netherlands.
Rebecca Taylor MEP (Lib Dem) said,
“Those MEPs who voted to reject the proposal, including British Conservatives, have put Europe on a backward step. The Conservatives have therefore shown their contempt for the needs of British industry and the efforts of the coalition government to reduce carbon emissions.
“While the British government is working hard to both protect our environment and build a stronger economy, Tory MEPs in Brussels are undermining those efforts. ”