Ed Davey has managed to win his first major battle as Energy Secretary – against the might of the Treasury, no less. James blogged earlier in the week that the battle between Lib Dem and Tory on cutting subsidies for onshore wind generation would be a test of how well the coalition is actually working, and this morning’s report in the Financial Times that George Osborne and Davey have managed to find a compromise is an illustration of that partnership in action. The newspaper reports that the dispute became so heated that Nick Clegg and David Cameron intervened to hammer down a final agreement.
In the blue corner, Osborne was concerned not just by the effects of green policies on the competitiveness of British industry, but also by the fierce opposition to onshore wind within his own party. Don’t forget that 101 Tory MPs wrote to the Prime Minister in February demanding that the subsidy be cut.
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