When we closed down our mines, forever, Germany kept theirs ticking over, so that if necessary they could be 're-booted' in the future. Which they have been.

Makes sense as technology has provided us with the ability to extract all the harmful chemicals from coal to provide a clean burn.

France went nuclear. Three quarters of France’s energy is met by nuclear power.

So, just thinking along the lines of economic competitiveness, does being almost totally dependent on fuel imports put us at a disadvantage? Do you think that just maybe someone in this place may suggest  it's time to end the culture of short termism?

I wrote a blog a while ago about food security. The same principle applies to fuel surely?

Apparently, the sofa in my office is piled high with thank you cards, letters, and emails; and now the piles have started on the floor. All from people thanking me for the position I took on abortion.

A lady has written in one of the cards “Sometime in the future, our great grandchildren will look back on what we did, in the same way we look back on the appalling practice of slavery, and try to make sense of what appeared on the outside to be a progressive and civilised society, but which was all the while butchering unborn babies”.