The Prime Minister’s U-turn on green policies has failed to produce results – because voters aren’t anti net zero, writes Lucy Kenningham
The local elections were abysmal for the Conservatives, yes, but they also underscored another truth: Rishi Sunak’s U-turn on green policies have not served the party well. Some people are unhappy with the ultra-low emission zone and congestion charge. But the vast majority, even of Conservative voters, are not against policies that protect the environment.
The Tories were grappling for meaning after a trio of uninspiring byelection results in summer 2023. Keen to read into their one mini victory in the safe seat of Uxbridge, which they won only by the skin of their teeth, they extrapolated a national desire to undermine net zero ambitions from a small number of anti-Ulez car drivers in outer London. Soon Sunak found himself slamming “hare-brained” traffic schemes and vowing to “slam brakes on the war on motorists” (never mind that most motorists are not just drivers but pedestrians, cyclists and human beings too). This followed serious green policy rowbacks, the most significant being a controversial five-year delay on a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, heavily criticised by business groups.
Detrimental to enterprise – but was it popular with voters, at least? Well…. No. Less than a year after Sunak’s first bout of pro-motorist mania, the local election results have painted a vivid picture of voters’ views on green U turns – and in short, they don’t like them one bit.
Green gains
The Conservatives’ undermining of net zero goals for political gain has proven misguided for........