Framing net zero as a “burden” was an “electoral mistake” for the Tories, according to the director of the Conservative Environment Network, who has urged the party to be more positive about the green agenda.
Speaking to PoliticsHome, Sam Hall said the way in which the Conservatives shifted their tone on green policies ahead of the 4 July General Election prevented the party from getting as much "credit" for its record on the environment as it should have, and meant some swing voters backed Labour or the Liberal Democrats instead.
“It was a missed opportunity around the swing voters to Labour and the Lib Dems, who did attach quite a lot to the environment, and could have been brought back to the party potentially, with a with a stronger green message,” said Hall.
Hall, who was an adviser to former Tory Cabinet minister Michael Gove when he was at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, hopes the six Conservative MPs vying to be the next party leader will take a positive approach to environmental issues.
He hopes there will be “a bit of positivity and pride in the Conservative record on the environment and try and lay claim to that tradition that goes on climate change all the way back to Margaret Thatcher," he told PoliticsHome.
Last year, while prime minister, current Tory leader Rishi Sunak announced a significant overhaul of the government’s net zero policy, including delaying the ban on new petrol cars and pulling requirements for landlords to make energy efficiency savings to homes.
At the time, Sunak argued the changes took a more common sense approach to addressing climate change, and in a way which reduced costs for ordinary people.
However, it was also seen as an attempt to create a dividing line with Keir Starmer at a time when the Labour Party's large leads in the opinion polls were showing no signs of falling away. The shift came soon after a surprise Tory victory at the Uxbridge by-election, where local opposition to the expanding Ultra Low Emission Zone was seen as a key factor.
Former Conservative minister Chris Skidmore quit Parliament in January over the then-government’s approach to net zero, telling ministers that they should not be “playing short-term politics” with oil and gas licences plans that “destroy the reputation of the UK as a climate leader”.
According to Hall, the shift meant that some of the Tory pary's “big achievements” on the environment during its 14 years in power, including the presidency of Cop26, phasing out coal-fired power stations and reforms to farming subsidies, became harder to talk about during the general election campaign.
"The framing of net zero more as a burden to be minimised rather than opportunity to be seized, was an electoral mistake. It did mean that the party couldn't get as much political credit for its achievements on the environment as it as it might other otherwise have done," he said.
Hall believes that Teesside mayor Ben Houchen’s approach to the environment could be the “blueprint” for the Tories going forward, as the party looks to decide its future leader.
While the Conservatives suffered historic losses on 4 July and in May’s local elections, Houchen, the mayor of Tees Valley since 2017, bucked bleak national trends and managed to stay in office, although with a reduced majority.
Hall believes Houchen was able to win "against a very difficult national backdrop” partly by successfully linking the fortunes of the local economy to the green agenda.
“The way he was able to marry together that economic argument around economic opportunity and an environmental one about the importance of green industries is a blueprint for the party going forward.
“Hopefully they [the six Tory leadership candidates] can look to his narrative and his record on Teesside as part of that," said the former government adviser.
The six Conservatives bidding to succeed Sunak as leader of the opposition are Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly, Robert Jenrick, Priti Patel, Mel Stride and Tom Tudendhat. Tory MPs will whittle them down to four next month, before members choose the winner in early November.
Cleverly, the former home secretary, told PoliticsHome CEN has "offered a variety of sensible, Conservative solutions for the challenges facing our environment". He said he agrees with the campaign that "the free market and private sector investment will be absolutely vital in the protection of our environment — if we try and do this solely through bigger and bigger government we will fail".
Stride, the ex-work and pensions secretary, said “the transition to net zero presents both challenges and opportunities” and that “acting as responsible custodians of our environment for the next generation is the very essence of conservatism”.
“I am committed to our climate targets and the UK must continue to be a global leader in this space,” he told PoliticsHome.
In its latest manifesto, 'Green Shoots', CEN proposes over 90 policies which it believes would reduce the cost of living, boost green investment into the UK and enhance communities. They include reducing VAT for on-street electric vehicle charging, using water company fines to restore rivers, and strengthening tax breaks in freeports.
A spokesperson for Patel told PoliticsHome her approach to the environment is “in tune with the majority of British people”, and that she is “strongly committed to a common sense approach to tackling environmental issues”. However, they stressed “she has always made clear that it is important that conserving nature, the great British countryside and its beautiful landscapes is very different to reaching Net Zero targets”.
It is understood that Badenoch supports much of CEN's work and believes the party needs a fresh start after the election losses, but will not yet commit to a certain policy. Jenrick did not respond to PoliticsHome's request for a response.
Tom Tugendhat described "caring for our environment" as "inherently conservative". He praised the party's green record and added: "If we are to rediscover conservative principles, then conservative environmentalism must play a part in our party’s future."
While Hall is not expecting leadership candidates to sign up to all 90-plus policies, he hopes that those in the race will “draw on some of the ideas in there as they start to build their policy platforms”.
“One thing we’ve been really keen to do with the manifesto is to clearly root it in conservative principles,” something he compared to one of the “emerging themes” of the leadership contest as a whole.
“Candidates have wanted to start almost from the first principles as to what Conservatives should stand for, so we’ve tried to show how the policies that we are advocating for do reflect those conservative principles and belief in free markets, free trade, personal responsibility, empowering communities and individuals and so on.”
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