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“I’m not the Shadow Minister for green crap,” said Jonathan Reynolds, the MP for Staybridge and Labour’s Shadow Minister for Energy and Climate Change at a roundtable table debate held today in Marple. 

His remark referenced the reported slip of the tongue by David Cameron in 2013 to ‘get rid of the green crap’ to keep energy bills down and those bills were the focus of Reynolds’ comments as he kicked off the session organised by local Labour candidate, Michael Taylor. 

Opening up the session Reynolds talked about the need for urgent reform in the energy markets and in particular on his desire to see a wholescale revisiting of energy efficiency and what he termed ‘whole house retrofit’. “It’s a national infrastructure priority” he said. “To get energy efficiency adopted by the whole community we have to work much harder, raise standards and in particular find ways to tackle the tough targets - like the private rented sector for example.”

The Shadow Minister talked of climate change being more of an opportunity than a burden, and of how he’d personally taken a number of key steps including being the proud driver of an electric car for the last month.

Recent MESS initiatives include an Incredible Edible group and the Marple Eco House. The group has a heat camera they use to zap heat-leaking properties and they even help local schools to conduct energy-related experiments.

The meeting was largely however, about local people sharing their own experiences, and in particular putting spotlight on ‘MESS’ - the local group of volunteers that has, over the last few years, run a wide number of energy-related projects across the local communities of Marple, Mellor & Marple Bridge. Recent initiatives include an Incredible Edible group and the Marple Eco House. The group has a heat camera they use to zap heat-leaking properties and they even help local schools to conduct energy-related experiments. The group’s current chair, Geoff Tomlinson, outlined their current roster of efforts while other members talked about Stockport’s hydro project and their recent retrofit of a local scout camp that has cut energy bills from £36,000 each year to just £10,000.

The original founder of the group, Maureen Matthews, was also at the roundtable. “We founded it some years ago,” she said. “We thought it was badly needed locally and that we needed to help people to take the environment more seriously.”

Future projects outlined by Hilary Brooks and Andy Shaw from MESS include a new community allotment, an orchard, a sustainable food partnership, campaigns on active (and low carbon) travel and a renewed push on insulation.

"We need more groups like MESS who work at a community level, rather than everything being down to individuals.”  --- Pete Black

Also at the roundtable was a represented of Frack-Free Manchester, the chair of Stockport Peace Group and Pete Black, a transport consultant and chair of the Friends of Marple Station, who pointed out that we need more groups like MESS who work at a community level, rather than everything "being down to individuals”.

The roundtable came about as Jonathan Reynolds was campaigning with Marple community activist Michael Taylor who is Labour’s candidate in the Hazel Grove constituency. The pair are jointly lobbying for a Sunday service on the Rose Hill to Manchester line which runs through Hyde and Hyde North in the neighbouring constituency where Reynolds is seeking re-election.

Michael Taylor said, “Marple is a great example of an active community where people think global and act local on such a major issue as climate change. The work MESS does isn’t just about making homes more energy efficient, but driving home the point about why we all need to act.”