Mrs Lockhart said,
“This investment is sensible to help the UK become a world leader in clean energy, but the Government has consistently put the green fuel cart before the horse by banning the use of red diesel in construction before an alternative fuel was available.
We vigorously opposed the red diesel changes which have driven up cost of quarrying materials and in turn construction costs at a time when every part of the UK is facing a housing shortage. It was madness to ban quarry plants and refrigerated trailers from using red diesel when there was no alternative in place. The Government should have funded the alternative research as part of a longer-term plan to move away from red diesel.
This investment demonstrates that we were right in our campaign, but it is too late for the consumers who are already facing increased costs as a result of little more than a tax grab.”