THE Government's 10% reduction in wind farm subsidies is laughable.

The whole wind farm industry is a con and is not viable without subsidies.

It is wrong that the taxpayer should be paying to keep afloat private businesses, often based abroad, and also lining the pockets of wealthy landowners.

The subsidies should be scrapped altogether and wind farms consigned to the history books of great follies, which is where one day they will surely end.

I am pleased to hear that planning rules regulating their construction are to be reviewed and I hope that this will enable the views of local people to be given a much higher priority than is currently the situation.

The news that shale gas development is being supported is also very welcome, though obviously it must be carefully monitored.

Meanwhile George Osborne is seeking to gain Brownie points by saying he will refuse to sign up to new carbon emissions targets beyond 2020 but I'll believe that only when it happens. Time after time Brussels orders us to jump and all we do is ask how high.


Paul Nuttall, UKIP Euro-MP for the North West.