Ban the standby button, say Tories

It's very rarely that I ever agree with anything that David Cameron says, so let's savour the moment.

Television sets and other domestic appliances will be fitted with special devices to switch off standby power as part of a radical plan to cut wasteful use of electricity, a special Conservative report will recommend this week.

In an attempt to burnish his green credentials - weeks after being accused of lurching to the right - David Cameron will offer strong support for the report that would herald a major redesign of many of today's electrical goods.

I am as guilty as anyone else of putting devices on to standby rather than switching them off completely - standby power alone accounts for 2.25 per cent of Britain's electricity production - and eliminating this ability would have a positive effect on climate change.

So, I'll take my hat off to Cameron. That's actually a very sensible proposal.