I see that the local Conservatives are getting themselves in a flap over the news that it is the Tory councils in Berkshire that are forcing up Council Tax bills by the highest amounts. There is a lot of misinformation flying around so I thought it would be helpful to put a few hard facts on the record. Council Tax rises in Berkshire for 2008-09 are as follows: Wokingham 4.9%, Bracknell 4.9%, Slough 4.9%, West Berkshire 3.9%, Windsor and Maidenhead 2.4% and just 1.9% for Reading. It is also worth looking back over the last four years where Council Tax rises in Reading have been 3.7%, 4.7%, 4.7% and 3.5%. All of these increases are lower than the current tax hike in Wokingham who, as well as posting the highest Council Tax increase in Berkshire, are slashing vital services like care for the elderly. No wonder Frank Browne, their Council leader has decided to resign!

Last week I took part in the Commons debate on Climate Change in the context of the European Reform Treaty which is currently going through Parliament.

I had been looking forward to the debate for some time. If ever there was a issue that illustrates the futility of the isolationist politics of yesterday-which have been spewing forth from the mouths of the more extreme Eurosceptics - it is that of climate change. It represents possibly the greatest threat to human life on our planet, and it requires urgent international action if we are to make any progress at all.

At worst, 200 million refugees could be on the move owing to floods or drought. Up to 40% of all known species could face extinction, the cost of climate change alone could be £3.68 trillion, and one in six of the world’s population could be without ready access to drinking water.

We are already at a point at which its effects cannot be reversed, and we shall be lucky if we manage to restrict the rise in global temperature to 2 degrees centigrade (2^o). A rise of 3° would result in decreasing crop yields and the collapse of whole ecosystems. A rise of 4° is frankly unimaginable. The melting of the west Antarctic ice sheet would gradually increase sea levels by 5 to 6metres , putting vast tracts of land under water. In the United Kingdom alone, the number of communities at risk from coastal flooding would double to 1.8 million, while in Bangladesh permanent flooding and a shortage of drinking water could cause between 30 million and 40 million people to be displaced from their homes.

Now is not the time for isolationism. Now is the time to step up to the mark and recognise the contribution that Britain can make by working within the institutions of the European Union, rather than claiming that everything that comes out of Brussels is fundamentally flawed.

A couple of weeks ago I was privileged to speak at Greyfriars church in Reading, where churches had joined in a campaign to give up carbon for Lent. It was an impressive initiative. Workshops from faith groups throughout the Reading area discussed what we can do about climate change. Given the likely impact on some of the world’s poorest people this has now become a moral issue, not just an environmental one.