Conservatives Are Not Taking Energy Policy Seriously

The Tories can hype nuclear all they want – it’s still the same old Green Blob pulling the strings

There is probably not a soul outside of SW1 who does not by now recognise that there is a catastrophic problem with Net Zero. From most people’s experiences, the fundamental issue is the matter of cost – energy bills. They have not come down, and the Secretary of State’s promises are being exposed as hollow almost as soon as he utters them. For their part, the opposition have made some superficial concessions to reality, making some valid criticisms of the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero policies along the way. But deeper inspection reveals that they have too little to say about the broader policy agenda and that their thinking owes less to rational energy policy than to deference to the usual suspects who created the mess.

“Britain needs to double down on nuclear”, tweeted Ed Miliband’s opposite, Claire Coutinho on Wednesday. According to Coutinho, Britain built the world’s first nuclear power plant without being constrained by “absurd environmental regulations”. “If Labour were serious about growth, they’d back our plans”, she concluded.