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DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Now an anti-green movement sweeping through the Conservative party is putting the brakes on the Liberal Democrat’s environment agenda, that’s according to the Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey, who joins me now from the Lib Dem conference in Brighton, a very good morning to you Mr Davey. So you feel there is a kind of Tea Party tendency, that reference to some of the Republican right in America, a Tea Party tendency in the Conservatives is derailing your green agenda?

ED DAVEY: Well they’re not derailing it because we’re pressing ahead. We have got some very ambitious plans to make sure we have secure energy in Britain, affordable energy in Britain and clean energy and it’s that clean energy that has the huge investment opportunity. There is a real opportunity for green energy growth. Britain needs to replace some ageing infrastructure, because Labour clearly have neglected the energy system we have got ageing infrastructure, we’ve got 20% of our power capacity closing this decade that’s got to be replaced and that’s a huge growth opportunity. We can replace those ageing coal power stations with new wind, solar, nuclear, carbon capture storage and this green energy can produce jobs all across the country so what I’m really surprised at with these Conservative critics is that they’re getting in the way of growth for our economy and getting in the way of green growth and I think that is really bad news for people around the country who want to see the government making sure that they have got a prosperous future with well-paid jobs for their families.

DM: It is thought that the Chancellor is one of them, that he has doubts about some aspects of the environmental policies, is he one of them, George Osborne?

ED: Well George Osborne the Chancellor needs to make sure our economy is growing and he knows that when you look at all the planned infrastructure investment, all the building work that the government is trying to push at the centre of its growth agenda, energy is about half of that planned infrastructure investment, about £110 billion with projects all around the country so I’m absolutely sure that the Chancellor wants growth and I think he recognises that energy investment, energy infrastructure is a really critical way to do that and I think he also realises that if we get this right we can make sure that consumer bills go down. At the moment world gas prices and world oil prices have gone up massively and that’s really hurting consumers, hurting businesses. I’m determined that what we do brings those bills down.

DM: That’s another point that I will put to you in a minute because a lot of people say that if you pursue the green policies with the subsidies and the incentives that prices might have to rise in the short term. Just park that for a minute, just on George Osborne, you said you’re sure he wants growth, I think we’re all sure he wants it but does he really want it through the agenda that you’re putting forward? Does he want it through wind and wave and whatever else you’re proposing?

ED: Well this green agenda is fantastic for growth. A lot of the infrastructure we need, the power plants, the transmission lines, the wind turbines and so on, are ready to go. These are what the Treasury call ‘shovel ready’ projects so we can get investment now, we can create jobs now, we can get green growth now and one of the great things when we’re in hard times, when we are having to tighten our belts because of the deficit, is that these investments are paid for largely by private investors so that really makes real sense when money’s tight and when we need to get growth going now, the green energy opportunity isn’t just massive but it really is appropriate to the economic challenges facing the Chancellor and this government and that’s why I think we will be proceeding ahead with them.

DM: And you are really saying that as you develop alternative energy, that bills will go down? A lot of analysts are saying they will go up.

ED: No, people have got to look at what’s pushing bills up now. The real reason why we are seeing rocketing energy bills is because Labour failed to tackle the energy policy challenges and we’re importing more and more oil and gas and world oil and gas prices have been rocketing up and that’s driving up electricity and gas bills for people around the country. Our proposals which are, yes, about green energy production generating green energy in a climate change friendly way but they are also about insulating people’s homes. We have got a green deal which will help people save energy so they are not wasting it, that will cut people’s bills and our proposals to give Ofgem, the energy regulator, more power so that when an energy company treats a customer badly, the fine goes to that customer rather than to the Treasury as now. This shows that we’re on the customers side and I’ll be outlining a whole range of policies, for example helping communities buy energy together so that they can get a better deal in the market. I’ll be looking at making bills simpler so it will be easier for people to switch to a better tariff. All these are practical ways of helping people, particularly the less well off in society who are struggling with these rocketing energy bills which are really the result of Labour’s neglect.

DM: Just the last thought on your Cabinet colleague, Andrew Mitchell. You have no doubt sat around a table and found him to be all sweetness and light, he seems to have lost his temper to say the least last week in Downing Street. What do you think should result?

ED: Well I think it’s very regrettable that he lost his temper in the way that he did and I’m glad he’s apologised but it really is important that people in public life, people around the Cabinet table, respect our police, respect all our public servants, in fact respect the public and I think he must be regretting very deeply what he said. I’m glad he’s apologised, I’m glad he’s spoken to the police officer involved and I hope that can draw the line under it but obviously I don't know the details of what was said. If more comes out, well we’ll judge it then but he was right to apologise because it was a very bad mistake. DM: Okay, Secretary of State, thank you very much indeed.