LORD BOTHAM: Join my fight to stop Miliband's turbines

If Andy Burnham sacks Ed Miliband from the Cabinet there will be resounding cheers across the North of England.

For Miliband is planning to destroy the gorgeous countryside of four counties here in the North with 94 monster wind turbines.

Back in 1999 a judge ruled against 54-metre turbines, saying they would 'seriously harm' this area of 'high landscape value'. Not surprising as each would have been taller than Nelson's Column.

Yet now Ed Miliband is encouraging turbines that would be four times taller than Nelson's Column.

These unbelievably huge contraptions – up to 230 metres tall – would be placed on top of hills around County Durham's stunning Barningham Moor; wild and desolate Ray Fell in Northumberland; rugged Scout Moor in Lancashire; and Walshaw Moor in West Yorkshire – long associated with the Bronte sisters.

They would be visible for dozens of miles, ruining the landscape over much of the North. On top of that, new access roads would cut through the moors along with miles of pylons as the power would be generated where it is not needed.

These landscapes are part of the wealth of the North. Walk through the breathtaking beauty of places like Barningham Moor and, whatever kind of day you are having, life is transformed.

Ed Miliband knows how unpopular his monster turbines would be. So he has decreed they are part of a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project, in order to side-step local democratic planning processes.

Ed Miliband is planning to destroy the gorgeous countryside of four counties here in the North with 94 monster wind turbines

He knows how unpopular his monster turbines would be. So he has decreed they are part of a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project, in order to side-step local democratic planning processes

Ian Botham is concerned that wind turbines would ruin much of the landscape in the North

If Burnham keeps him on as Energy Secretary, Ed and Ed alone would decide. The plan has already caused huge resentment against Labour across great swathes of the North. 

For what price would you put on your view being ruined by a turbine? Or having to put up with the constant shadow-flicker when the sun is low? Academics at the London School of Economics found that, for those living close to turbines under 100 metres, property prices fell 12 per cent. With 200-metre turbines the impact would be far worse.

Nature would also pay a huge price. Under Miliband's vision, the constant swooping sound of the gigantic turbines would replace bird song. Birds of prey like merlin, hen harriers and peregrines would have no chance with turbine tips slicing through the air at 200mph. A golden eagle was recently tracked in the area. Is this Government willing to risk golden eagles being killed by its new turbines?

Academic research indicates these turbines would kill around 35,000 birds over their operating life.

Miliband has an unlikely ally in his planned destruction of these moors. The RSPB has called for a five-fold increase in the number of onshore turbines, some 20,000 more. Its blinkered Left-wingers always put ideology ahead of nature. Might I remind the RSPB that its purpose is to protect birds not eliminate them?

The threat to nature does not just concern birds. The Government has invested £50million protecting our peatlands. Yet now it plans to tear out 70,000 tons of deep peat, a carbon store which has taken thousands of years to develop, to make way for the concrete foundations of these turbines.

Much more peatland would be destroyed by the access roads and pylons. How mad is this?

The destruction would be so great that even the eco-enthusiasts at The Guardian ran a story concerning the plan with a headline which said: 'It makes no sense.' But when has sense ever got in the way of Ed Miliband?

This is Scout Moor Wind Farm on the Pennines, near Rochdale. There are concerns about the impact of wind turbines on birds and peatland

Wadsworth Moor in Walshaw, in the Pennines, has a picturesque, unspoiled landscape

As climate secretary in the previous Labour government he was the architect of the growth in wind power. He thinks if he keeps saying he is producing 'cheap, clean power' we will believe him. But every time we look at our electricity bills we know the opposite is true. Our bills have rocketed. They are some of the highest in the developed world.

Why is that? Building huge turbines on the top of moors is hugely expensive. So is connecting them to the grid. Then, because the wind does not always blow, their power needs to be backed up by gas power stations. On top of that is the compensation you have to pay the wind farm operators when they are producing too much power for the grid, and it can't be used.

It is these bills that are destroying Britain's industries and leaving families hard up. Miliband is Making England Poor Again.

Miliband's electricity prices are hammering the regional economy – from glass making in St Helens to petrochemicals in Teesside.

To add insult to injury, as our industries are now so uncompetitive, the vast majority of turbines would be imported from Denmark, Germany and China. Hardly homegrown energy.

Miliband is a fantasist unable to face up to the double destruction he is causing, first to our countryside and second our economy. Despite this track record he is now a likely candidate to become Chancellor.

Why does Miliband need such vast wind turbines? It is not just that this son of a Marxist is determined to leave his Stalinesque legacy on our landscape. It is also because wind power is staggeringly inefficient, so capturing meaningful amounts of energy takes vast blades.

And unlike solar power, where the kit is rapidly improving, wind power is stagnant technology. Every other technology is more efficient. If Miliband really wanted to reduce carbon emissions, nuclear power is twice as good as wind power.

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