David Elliott is Professor Emeritus of Technology Policy at the Open University, UK, where he developed courses and research on technological innovation, focusing on renewable energy policy. Since retirement, he has continued to write extensively on that topic, with this book bringing the strategic issues into sharp contemporary focus.
Tony Blair once raged against 'the forces of conservatism', but Paul Embery reminds us that Labour, like its lost working class voters, has a history of social and cultural conservatism. If it wants to win back those lost voters, it will need to rediscover the conservatism that makes solidarity possible, and to do that its leaders should start by reading this hard-hitting and painfully honest book. Nick Timothy, author of Remaking One Nation: The Future of Conservatism, and Daily Telegraph columnist A polemic in the tradition of the Levellers, the Chartists and the trade union movement. Paul Embery's brave book shows that Labour cannot win without the working class. The future of the left is a politics of people, place and belonging. Adrian Pabst, Professor of Politics at the University of Kent and author of The Demons of Liberal Democracy Most voters lean left on economics and conservative on culture but no one represents them. Embery delivers a tight, passionately-argued plea for the left to rediscover its roots in social solidarity. Despised confirms Embery's place as a leading force in the emerging left-conservative movement. Eric Kaufmann, Birkbeck College, University of London This timely book provides an easily readable account of how renewable energy has emerged as the main driver of a transition away from fossil fuels. I highly recommend it for all readers interested in energy and climate. Mark Z. Jacobson, Stanford University How can we move to a sustainable energy system? This book addresses the key issues, with the insights and clarity expected from the UK's most distinguished commentator on renewables. Nick Eyre, Director, Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions