James Heappey steps down from ECIU Advisory Board

The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit today says farewell to one of its Advisory Board members, James Heappey MP.

Elected to represent the Wells constituency in the May 2015 General Election, James joined ECIU's Advisory Board a couple of years later.

He was re-elected in 2017 and again in 2019. A soldier before entering politics, reaching the rank of Major in the Rifles and serving in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan, James is now Minister for Defence Procurement.

"James is one of the most eloquent advocates that recent Parliaments have seen for basing energy and climate policy on evidence," said ECIU Director Richard Black.

"At a time when not all of his backbench colleagues understood the evidence, James was a champion for important findings - that energy bills were coming down, home insulation was popular, and an electricity system based largely on renewables would bring social and economic as well as environmental benefits - findings that have since become mainstream.

"We've loved working with James, and wish him the very best in his current role in Government and everything else he undertakes in future."