Keir Starmer is facing mounting pressure to reconsider his net zero policies after former Prime Minister Tony Blair launched a scathing attack on the government's green agenda. In a foreword to a report advocating for more nuclear power and carbon capture, Blair argued that voters are being asked to make financial sacrifices for minimal global impact, and that any strategy based on phasing out fossil fuels in the short term is doomed to fail.
The intervention came just as Starmer was hosting an energy security summit at Lancaster House, where he declared that homegrown clean energy is the only way to deliver energy security and lower bills. The timing of Blair's remarks, on the eve of local elections, overshadowed Starmer's speech and was met with fury in Downing Street. A Labour source insisted the prime minister is 'doubling down' on clean energy and climate leadership.
The row has been seized upon by the Conservatives and Reform UK, which made significant gains in the local elections. Reform leader Nigel Farage has warned council officials working on climate change to look for new jobs, while the party's energy spokesperson Richard Tice vowed to 'wage war' against renewable energy developers. Meanwhile, Green Party deputy leader Zack Polanski has argued that cautious net zero policies invite populist opposition, calling instead for greater government intervention and taxing the rich to fund the low-carbon transition.
Starmer's commitment to net zero is now under scrutiny from multiple sides, with Blair's attack adding to internal party tensions and external populist pressures. The prime minister has so far stuck to his plans, but the political landscape is shifting rapidly as the debate over climate policy intensifies.
