Keir Starmer's energy and climate policies have come under attack from opposition parties, but polling suggests strong public support for climate action remains. A poll by More in Common for the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit on the eve of the May local elections found two-thirds of the public still want the UK to meet its net zero target.
The prime minister has faced a problem no Labour government has had to deal with before: the breakdown of a cross-party consensus on climate that held since Margaret Thatcher's era. Kemi Badenoch has weaponised the green agenda, vowing to abandon net zero and boost North Sea drilling, while Nigel Farage's Reform party denies climate science and threatens to withdraw from the Paris agreement.
This pressure forced Starmer to row back on some policies, including halving a pledged £28bn investment in the green economy. However, experts say this advice was out of step with voters. Ed Matthew of E3G said the move was a misreading of voters, who support renewables and taking back control of energy. The rowback also helped the Green party surge, as it pledged to speed up the transition.
Despite the backlash, Starmer has a strong record on green achievements, according to Friends of the Earth's Mike Childs. He intervened to protect the warm homes plan, insisted the climate plan be legally compliant, and voiced support for green energy. Investments in renewables reduced wholesale electricity prices by about a third last year, though households have yet to see the benefits due to fossil fuel crises.
