being hypocritical, because even though he was proposing reducing renewable investment, he had said previously in the 2010 election campaign, '...vote blue to go green...' (in other words, that the Conservatives would be eco-friendly). The prospect of large-scale solar energy farms being built in the British countryside was discarded by Eric Pickles, the Communities Secretary, on 8 June 2014. At the time, the solar energy industry received £600mn per annum in subsidy. Pickles killed a project because it would have had "major ... adverse impact on the landscape... The loss of a substantial area of productive agricultural land for at least 25 years is another negative factor". Globalisation At a speech in Mumbai in 2006, Cameron said there were depressed towns "where the winds of globalisation [felt] like a chilling blast, not an invigorating breeze". While stressing "the benefits of globalisation", Cameron also argued that globalisation – not immigration – was to blame for lower wages in the UK, and opposed saying "We must also be honest about [globalisation's] costs, because the alternative is that people project their fears and anxieties on to other ethnic groups or other countries." In a 2013 speech at London Gateway, Cameron rejected the "unthinking embrace of globalisation, exemplified by New Labour, or the timid alternative of go-it-alone Little Englandism", according to Patrick Wintour of The Guardian. Cameron also stated that welfare reform and education reform were necessary in order to compete on the global market, while emphasising national sovereignty and what he perceived to be the UK's role in international affairs. Rail transport After the 2010 General Election, the new Conservative-led Coalition continued Labour's policies on rail transport largely unaltered after a pause to review the finances, keeping the privatised system in place. There was continuing support for the High Speed 2 scheme and further developing plans for the route. Whilst initially showing scepticism towards the electrification of the Great Western route, they later gave the project its backing and work began formally in 2012. Crossrail and the upgrade to Thameslink are due for opening in 2018. The Government has moved towards allowing more competition on the intercity network through open access operators. In 2015 it approved a service run by Alliance Rail to operate between London and Blackpool, and both Alliance and FirstGroup have applied to run open access services on the East Coast Main Line. In January 2015, Cameron said "We've made