Ed Miliband and coal

Today's announcement about a new generation of coal-fired power stations reminds me of an old House Points column from October 2005:

Suddenly everyone is talking about coal. On Wednesday last week two of New Labour's brightest young things - Ed Balls and Edward Milliband - took part in a Westminster Hall debate on the future of the industry. So did Paddy Tipping, but he sounds like a practice favoured by unscrupulous Victorian mine owners.

Interesting that we were still calling Ed Miliband "Edward" in those days. And embarrassing that I couldn't spell "Miliband".

You can find the full debate in Hansard.

Thrill as Miliband Minor says:

coal has always been seen as part of the environmental problem that we face, but I believe that it has a chance to be seen as part of the solution.