What’s it all about?
Policy and government. For a long time I’ve said that the cleantech sector has done well despite, not because of politics and policy. I do however think that to truly scale we do need politicians and policies to support the energy and mobility transitions, and over the last years we have seen this increase. But we still have a deeply entrenched fossil fuel funded government in the UK, and in many parts of the world, and the Orange buffoon lurking again in the US. I’ve recently seen a number of posts from the Labour Party, and Bill Esterson in particular that gave me hope for the UK at least, when and if they get elected. I thought I’d ask Bill to join me to share some thoughts, as a former entrepreneur turned Shadow Minister/Minister. A bit different but I hope you enjoy the episode.
About Bill Esterson:
Bill Esterson was first elected Labour MP for Sefton Central in 2010 and is Shadow Minister for Roads. His brief includes the automotive sector, roads and motoring, logistics, decarbonisation, air quality and integrated transport.
Mr Esterson has previously served on the frontbench as Shadow Minister for Business and Industry, Shadow Minister for Small Business, and Shadow Minister for International Trade. He was a member of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Education, Housing, Communities & Local Government and Treasury Committees between 2010 and 2015, is Treasurer of the Tribune group of Labour MPs, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, vice-chair of the All Party Group for Children in Care and Care Leavers, vice chair of the All Party Group on Carbon Capture and Underground Storage and vice-chair of the All Party Group on Hydrogen.
Before entering Parliament, Mr Esterson started and grew a number of businesses between 1995 and 2010, alongside serving as a local councillor. He graduated from Leeds University in 1990 with BSc Hons in Maths and Philosophy and trained as an accountant after graduating.