UK

Voters won't accept 'economic destruction' to reach net zero, union leader warns Keir Starmer
Dominic Penna
Sun, August 20, 2023

Gary Smith, the general secretary of the GMB union, said a rush to abandon oil and gas would be a “disaster” - GM/PA

Voters will not accept “economic destruction” to achieve net zero, one of Britain’s biggest unions has warned Sir Keir Starmer.

Gary Smith, the general secretary of the GMB union, said a rush to abandon oil and gas would be a “disaster” and urged the Labour leader to rethink his green objectives.

The debate around net zero, which Britain is legally obliged to reach by 2050, has intensified after a surprise Tory victory at the Uxbridge by-election last month, with Labour blaming its defeat on the backlash to the expansion of London’s ultra-low emissions zone (Ulez).

However, Sir Keir’s party still plans to place its decarbonisation agenda at the heart of its offering at the next general election, with its multi-billion-pound Green Prosperity Plan designed to mimic Joe Biden’s big spending on environmental policies.

Warning that politicians had displayed a “dishonesty” about the costs of hitting climate targets, Mr Smith suggested Labour risks throwing away its double-digit poll lead if it does not strike the right tone on the issue.

Sir Keir Starmer plans to place decarbonisation at the heart of Labour's offering at the next general election - Anadolu/Anadolu

“The danger is if they get the discussion wrong on oil and gas and how we heat our homes and how we power industry, it becomes Ulez on steroids,” he told the Sunday Express.

“I think Labour got it wrong [in Uxbridge]. I think it was ill-thought-through what they said, and I hope their position is changing as they face up to the realities of the complexities and challenges of net zero.

“If politicians don’t listen, don’t take people with them, there will be a backlash and it will be to the Right.”

Reform UK, the insurgent Right-wing party led by Richard Tice, has called for a referendum on the 2050 net zero target.

A number of Conservative backbenchers echoed its calls for a popular vote last week, although the idea was subsequently rejected by Rishi Sunak.

In a broadside at Sir Keir’s plans to ban the granting of new licences to explore oil and gas fields in the North Sea, Mr Smith added: “Allowing oil and gas to wither will be a disaster for national security.

Energy policy promises to be a major issue in the next general election - Igors Aleksejevs/iStockphoto

“I think there has been a fundamental dishonesty at the heart of our politics about how complex energy is and about how costly any transition is going to be. People are not going to tolerate economic destruction to try to achieve net zero.”

Sir Keir has sought to moderate Labour’s image on environmental issues in the wake of disruptive high-profile stunts by climate campaigners including Greenpeace and Just Stop Oil in recent weeks.

Writing in the Times earlier this month, he described the demands of Just Stop Oil as “contemptible” and insisted he would work with oil and gas giants to secure a managed transition to net zero based on investment in newer technologies such as carbon capture.

The Conservatives have sought to exploit the political divide on the issue, with Grant Shapps, the Energy Security Secretary, indicating Labour’s strategy would cause blackouts, while Mr Sunak has pledged to achieve net zero in a “proportionate and pragmatic” way.