Conservative party leaders are stepping away from green policies to win votes in the next general election to win back voters.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak is being urged by the Tory party to drop ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) and petrol car ban policies ahead of the next general election to win voters.
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg told GB News the win in Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election had shown there’s a chance for the Tory party to win the next general election, as the expansion of Ulez has been blamed for Labour’s failure to win seats in west London.
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Rees-Mogg said the “lesson” from the west London result was that “there are things that we can change that will be electorally successful” as he urged ministers to “stop burdening” the public and businesses with “extra” green charges.
“I would certainly get rid of the pledge to get rid of petrol cars in 2030. That was done a few years ago in different circumstances,” he added.
Rees-Mogg also said he would ditch “plans in the Energy Bill to put extra charges on people and have extra certificates for people selling their houses, owning property and so on.”
“Having a long-term ambition for net zero is different and working towards it but we need to think about what other countries are doing, what is proportionate and what is affordable.”
Elsewhere, housing secretary Michael Gove has warned against “treating the cause of the environment as a religious crusade” and called for a relaxation of some net zero policies.
The government are currently banning landlords renting out their homes unless they pay for insulation and heat pumps to meet a new minimum energy efficiency threshold by 2028.
Gove told The Sunday Telegraph, however, that the government should “relax the pace” of policies.
Regarding the 2030 petrol car ban, Gove said he’s unclear “whether or not that is a perfectly calibrated target”, even though he thinks the polices are “achievable”.
