Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer have been urged not to abandon their parties’ green policies amid concerns over the pace of environmental reforms. A cabinet minister has criticised the introduction of new environmental regulations on landlords, stating that they may be “asking too much, too quickly.”
The expansion of the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) in London, led by Mayor Sadiq Khan, has been attributed to Labour’s failure to win Boris Johnson’s old seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip during the recent by-elections. The Conservatives managed to hold on to the seat with a narrow margin of 495 votes.
While Sir Keir Starmer has expressed his commitment to sticking with green pledges, he also acknowledged the need for the party to reflect and learn from the implementation of these policies.
The Housing Secretary, Michael Gove, has voiced his intention to “relax” the deadline for landlords in the private rented sector to make energy efficiency improvements to their properties. The proposal to ban landlords from renting out homes unless they increase the energy performance certificate rating of their properties should be pushed back past 2028, according to Gove’s suggestion.
The required upgrades for improving a property’s energy performance could involve fitting heat pumps, providing insulation, or installing solar panels, which may incur significant costs, potentially amounting to thousands of pounds.
Gove stated, “My own strong view is that we’re asking too much too quickly,” emphasising concerns about the rapid pace of these environmental reforms.
Tory MP Craig Mackinlay, chairman of the Net Zero Scrutiny Group, has proposed delaying the ban on new petrol and diesel cars by at least five years, pushing it to 2035.
The pushback against environmental reforms comes amidst growing pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to reconsider certain commitments aimed at achieving the UK’s net-zero carbon economy target by 2050.
Senior members within the Conservative Party have cautioned against sacrificing long-term environmental goals for short-term electoral gains. Alok Sharma, the former president of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, emphasised the importance of maintaining the political consensus on the crucial climate action agenda.
