Chancellor Rachel Reeves insisted on Monday building solar farms was essential to create ‘homegrown energy’ in the UK – stopping reliance on imports from Putin’s Russia
Rachel Reeves has dismissed Donald Trump’s claim that wind turbines are a “con job” – as the US President said they ruin the view from his golf courses.
The Chancellor insisted on Monday that building solar farms was essential to create “homegrown energy” in the UK – stopping reliance on imports from Putin’s Russia.
She said “never again can we have the boot of Putin on our neck, which was the experience after Russia invaded Ukraine and energy bills went through the roof”.
It came as Mr Trump, who is visiting his golf courses in Scotland this week, launched into a rant about the use of windmills – saying he will not allow them to be built in the US.
The US President said: “They are killing the beauty of our scenery, our valleys, our beautiful plains… you look up and you see windmills all over the place, it’s a horrible thing. “It’s the most expensive form of energy, it’s no good.”
He added: “The whole thing is a con job. It’s very expensive… but more important than that is it ruins the landscape, it kills the birds, they are noisy.
“Today I’m playing I think the best [golf] course in the world, Turnberry… and I look over the horizon and I see nine windmills, I said ‘isn’t that a shame, what a shame'”.
But asked by LBC about the comments, the Chancellor Ms Reeves said on Monday: “We’ve seen from the last few years and Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine that we’ve got to build our own homegrown energy infrastructure here in Britain.
“That includes solar farms, it includes onshore and offshore wind, because never again can we have the boot of Putin on our neck, which was the experience after Russia invaded Ukraine and energy bills went through the roof.
“That is still having an impact on the cost of living, and investment in clean, homegrown energy, boosts our security, brings jobs to Britain and ultimately brings down bills for working people, and that’s the policies that we are pursuing as a government.
The US President has previously rallied against the use of wind turbines close to his golf course. Just last week he told European countries to “stop the windmills”.
Over the weekend Mr Trump was seen on his Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire, being transported between holes in a motorcade of 26 golf carts and one small secret service vehicle. His son Eric was with him on the course.
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