Dominic Lawson Replaces Darren Grimes

Last month, terminally inept form filler Darren Grimes appeared at Conservative Home to sing the praises of an industry that would provide well-remunerated jobs for those in the north east of England. But there was a problem: his sales pitch was for Banks Mining, which was looking to extract coal via a new opencast operation.

Dominic Lawson

Dazza conceded that coal would soon no longer be used to generate electricity, but asserted “Surface mining is a much cleaner and safer operation to extract the coal that we still need. It’s a process that’s complete with restoration and regeneration projects, represents a boost for the local economy … That’s why I am incensed by moves that would see these high-skill, high-wage jobs in extracting that coal that we need here at home, exported elsewhere - especially when it’s to the likes of Russia”.

His pitch, on behalf of Banks Mining, a firm close to climate change denier supreme Matt Ridley, was duly made. Very few people were interested. But Banks Mining were not downhearted: they can now count on someone with a much larger megaphone to put their case, as today’s Daily Mail has shown. Their latest supporter is Dominic Lawson.

And he shows how to shill for coal properly, following the headline “What has 'builder' Boris got against the miners of Northumberland?” with “the Prime Minister declared his commitment to end unwarranted delays in the decision-making process, so as to make sure the planning system delivers the infrastructure and employment we all want … Yet the Conservative Government has been deliberately obstructing a project that would safeguard hundreds of jobs in one of the most depressed areas of the North of England”.

Whose fault would that be? Did Dom have an under-fire ministerial victim lined up? He certainly did. “The secretary of state now responsible for the continued prevarication is Robert Jenrick - which is particularly ironic given his speedy go-ahead for a housing project proposed by the Conservative party donor Richard Desmond, a development which Jenrick’s own department had advised him to reject”. Jenrick’s fault! Boo Jenrick!

The scheme was “put before Northumberland County Council in 2015 and approved by both Conservative and Labour elected officials”. So what’s stopping it, Dom? “The reason behind the Government’s obstruction and ill-will is that it likes to portray itself as the ‘world leader’ in the ‘battle against climate change’: and coal, of all forms of mass energy production, produces the greatest amount of CO2 emissions”. Boo Greenies!

Then comes the blatant propagandising. “Last week, a national opinion poll by Kantar (commissioned by Banks Mining) showed that no fewer than 87 per cent of Britons believed we should still produce steel, cement and bricks in the UK (all of which require coal in their manufacture) … And asked what they thought should be the Government’s ‘highest priority’, only 6 per cent ticked the box which said ‘reducing CO2 emissions’”.

Finally there is a message for Lawson’s fellow Dom: “I am sure the PM’s chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, understands this very well. He is a Durham man - and Banks Mining is headquartered in County Durham”. The article should have been marked Advertorial.

If at first you don’t succeed, get a real propagandist. I’ll just leave that one there.

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