I attended the Durham Miners’ Gala this weekend. The rain held off – just – and the crowds were bigger than ever.

It is always great to see such a celebration of the North East’s industrial tradition and enduring positive legacy. The banners of many of the coal mines – now all sadly gone – are absolutely beautiful, and the brass bands evoke a time when British pits employed over a million men – almost 200,000 men in our region alone at its height - and the coal was used to power the British Empire. In the early 20th century, this region rightly could be said to have provided the energy that powered the entire world.

In many respects, the Durham Miners’ Gala is an opportunity to remember our past. But what I think is really exciting is that in the 21st century the North East could be once again the powerhouse for modern energy.

A couple of days before the Miners’ Gala, there was a debate in the House of Commons about energy security. This is something which I feel strongly about, and so I participated in the debate. I’m afraid we will see the idea of energy security become more prominent in the news in the next few years. The price of oil and gas will increase in the next decade as other countries like China, India and Brazil start to really fly economically. In addition to this, the supply of easy-to-reach energy is going to be much harder. That combination of rising demand and falling supply is going to send prices through the roof.

More than that, much of the oil and gas in the world is in volatile places, like the Middle East and Russia. It must be much better if we in this country could generate our energy, rather than rely upon foreign countries. Given our position in the world, with a great deal of coastline, wind and (some) sun, Britain has a great deal going for it.

That’s where we as a town and as a region come in. We can be one of the great areas of Europe in energy production and distribution. We are on the coast and can boast a lot in terms of offshore windpower. Our tides could provide a degree of power. Although we can never become a sunny resort or the Sahara, we can be at the forefront of making solar panels. And don’t forget our more traditional expertise in oil and gas technology, as well as nuclear power capability.

The skills needed in energy policy are very complimentary. Given our pre-eminent role in manufacturing engineering, something we still managed to retain and enhance despite the recessions of the 1980s, 1990s and the last decade, I think we have the real possibility of being this country’s centre of excellence for oil, gas, nuclear and renewables. Just think of some of the companies we have in Hartlepool who are a by-word for excellence in energy – Hereema, JDR Cables and Corus, to name a few – as well as the nuclear power station and the emerging supply chain for renewable energy. Just think of how many well-paid jobs such an industrial cluster could generate in the next 20 years.

None of this will happen by chance. It needs government support, and in a time when the present Government is cutting investment, it has to be a concern that Hartlepool and the North East will not achieve its potential. However, I will keep pressing the Government on this, and have invited the Energy Minister up to Hartlepool to see for himself the enormous possibilities. That way, as well as celebrating the coal industry of the 19th and 20th centuries in the Durham Miners’ Gala, we will see the engineering and industrial successes of the 21st century.