Like many others in Portsmouth during the big freeze I had to re-arrange appointments and commitments, as I had a car that wouldn’t start and a street on which Torvill and Dean would have felt at home.

Visitors from overseas often joke that the weather is the British national obsession but it really proved a worthy talking point this time with some of the most extreme weather conditions I can remember in Portsmouth. It didn’t help that it rained before the snow fell, washing away the salt and grit and leaving many roads treacherous.

Weather like this reminds us just how vulnerable we all are to the elements and how as much as we might grumble about the British weather we largely take our ability to cope with it for granted.  People in other parts of the world aren’t so lucky.

In some countries Climate Change is already having a profound affect on people’s daily lives.  Seeing a possible opening, some commentators have tried to use the freak weather of the last few weeks as evidence that Climate Change isn’t happening.  Let’s be clear - weather isn’t climate.  A cold winter says nothing about long-term trends – over a longer period the science is absolutely clear, global temperatures are rising and could have a devastating impact if we don’t act.

On Friday the Government launched a new wave of offshore wind turbines which will create up to 70,000 green collar jobs over the next decade. Thanks to the skills of our North Sea workforce, the length of our coastline and the innovation of our best businesses, the UK is uniquely positioned to be the world leader in the new offshore wind industry and it is right that we seize the opportunity.

Despite the economic downturn, we have to invest for the future if we want our country to take advantage of these new technologies. Labour’s plan is for a sensible path to halving the deficit over 4 years and setting us on the path to growth. The Tories plans to cut now would choke off the recovery before it even starts.