2,359

of 5,000 signatures

To PRIME MINISTER RISHI SUNAK, CHANCELLOR JEREMY HUNT AND SofS GRANT SHAPPS

The duty of government is to act on the will of the people, defend its citizens and protect democracy. While the threat of the Aquind Interconnector hangs over the people of Portsmouth, you are failing on all counts.

Surely you know by now that our city is united against this dangerous project? From the allotment holders whose plots are vulnerable to drilling chemicals, to the businesses whose livelihoods will be threatened by gridlock from construction chaos, from the children who will be exposed to the pollution from years of tearing up our city, to the sports teams whose pitches will be closed for building sites, from the property owners whose homes are blighted by the route, to the dog walkers who will see Portsmouth’s precious green spaces dug up and fenced off… we reject the vandalism of our city for private profit.

Aquind’s plan would be devastating for our delicate marine and shoreline wildlife, such as 20 species of waders and the Brent Geese that winter here from Siberia. Laying the cables would also disturb significant amounts of toxic waste buried under Milton Common, threatening families living alongside the route with asbestos. The previous Secretary of State found that the damaging impacts on our city and environment could not be justified by any benefits, so what reason can there be to change his decision?

It's time to put an end the fake promises of cheaper and greener electricity, made by a company that has already been granted exemption from pricing regulation, which relies on an abundance of French nuclear power - but France says no to Aquind and now needs its power for its domestic market. It's time to practise what you preach, and invest in sustainable energy projects on our own shores, not put our security at risk by relying on Soviet-born oligarchs to develop critical infrastructure in the home of the Royal Navy.

We demand protection from the activities this highly unusual and opaque company: a company with no experience that claims to be able to manage a £1.3 billion cross-channel project; a company with substantial offshore funding but no trading income; a company that proposes an electricity cable but hides a communications network within it; a company whose owners seek to intimidate the press while making threats to a Portsmouth MP.

Aquind's money and influence have gone to the very heart of the Conservative Party. One of its owners boasts of his influence on your party leadership, while the Prime Minister and Chancellor are amongst those that accepted donations from the company or its owners. It’s time to return this money and remove the stench of cronyism from the Conservative Party’s relationship with Aquind, an odour that threatens your own reputations.

Open letter text

It's time to put an end to this unwanted, unneeded and dangerous plan. It’s time to protect our environment, stand up to oligarchs and defend democracy. It's time to stop Aquind.

29 Mar 2023
48 hours to go - make sure you have your say about the Aquind Interconnector
Thank you for signing Let's Stop Aquind's open letter to the UK government demanding that the Aquind Interconnector project is stopped. Every signature shows the strength of feeling against this dangerous proposal, but there is another way for your voice to be heard. The deadline for responses to the Planning Inspectorate is 23.59 on Friday 31 March, so there are only 48 hours to have your say on Aquind. Email your views to aquind@planninginspectorate.gov.uk and together we can #stopAQUIND

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Signers list

Zoe Marsh
Malcolm Carwardine
Jenevieve Pridgeon
Sandra Lemon
Christopher Price
Paul Cheeseman
Mel Sykes
Angela Dagless
Boa Blackie
Josephine Oldroyd
Richard Bright
Kallum Doe
John Wellbelove
Nicky Keeping
Carol Sands
Kevin Gubbins
Lydia Evens
Liam Doherty
David Ormrod
John Stoodley
David Green
Aaron Assar
Tracy Graham
Ms Lisa Mcardle
Matthew Roe
M.Doyle
Daniel Etherington
Laura Collinson
Judith Jewitt
Andrew Wilson
Nicola Fretwell
Trevor Churcher
Yasmin Dove
John Molloy
Wendy Masterson
April Corbett
Neil Nand
Stephanie Yearley
Sophia Tudge
Mark . Mcghie
Melanie Cox
Linda Fitzgerald
Keith Wyatt
Jenni King
Amanda Murphy
Helen Bodkin
Nathan Bartolo-Sumner
Patrick O’Hara
Laura Shipp

It's time to #stopAQUIND

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