AN ECO-ENTREPRENEUR has boosted Stroud's Labour Party with a cash injection of £20,000.

The donation to the Stroud constituency Labour party’s bid to win back the seat David Drew narrowly lost in 2010 has come from the owner of green energy supplier Ecotricity and Forest Green Rovers FC Dale Vince.

Mr Drew said the money will be used to campaign as effectively as possible for the election - which is now 100 days away.

“I know from working with Dale in the past just how strong his commitment to getting national action over climate change is, and it’s been a frustrating five years under the Coalition government,” said Mr Drew.

“We’ve gone backwards instead of forwards, and government policy has been damaging for renewable energy.

“Some important decisions need to be made and I’d like to see Dale involved in talks about the strategy a Labour government will follow in the way we tackle the problem of our dependency on fossil fuels for energy, transport and food. For the sake of future generations we need to get this right.”

Ecotricity founder Mr Vince said the recent decision by the office of local government and communities minister Eric Pickles to allow a rubbish burner to be built at Javelin Park, Haresfield played a part in his decision to make the donation.

So too is a Conservative pledge to axe public subsidies for newly-planned onshore wind turbines.

Ecotricity donated £20,000 to Green Party headquarters in November 2013.

“Renewable energy is economically vital to our country and essential in the fight against climate change – these are two of the biggest issues we face and the choice at the coming election is quite stark,” said Mr Vince.

“If we get these issues wrong for short term political reasons, as the Tories are doing, then future generations of Britons will pay the price.

“It’s unlikely that we would have had the waste incinerator imposed upon the district if Dave had been our MP. We need an MP that stands up for Stroud and a government that stands up for the environment."

Mr Drew was Labour MP for Stroud from 1997 to 2010, when he was defeated by Tory Neil Carmichael by 1,299 votes out of a total of 57,973 cast, an advantage of 2.3 per cent.

He is vice chairman of Vanarama Conference club Forest Green Rovers, a role for which he is not paid.