Onshore windfarm ban to be lifted in government U-turn
The government has U-turned over its ban on onshore wind by saying turbines could be installed if the projects gain the support of local communities.
The Department for Levelling Up has launched a consultation to explore how councils can “demonstrate local support and respond to views of their communities when considering onshore wind development in England”.
And if local people agree to having windfarms in their area, they could end up with lower energy bills too.
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Onshore windfarms were effectively barred under the leadership of David Cameron when he excluded them from government’s green energy subsidies.
And asked during the summer Tory leadership contest what his position was, the now-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak insisted to Sky News that he stood by the ban.
But there has been a growing rebellion on the Tory backbenches since he took power calling for it to be lifted.
Around 35 MPs – including former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss – signed an amendment to the Levelling Up Bill from former housing secretary Simon Clarke to allow new onshore wind projects in England.
The bill is due back in the Commons next week, and the government has already reversed its mandatory house-building target of 300,000 a year to try and ensure its passage.
‘Positive engagement with MPs’
A statement from the department said that under the proposals, “planning permission would be dependent on a project being able to demonstrate local support and appropriately address any impacts identified by the local community”.
It added: “Local authorities would also have to demonstrate their support for certain areas as being suitable for onshore wind, moving away from rigid requirements for sites to be designated in local plans.”
The department also said certain protections would remain in place, so National Parks and the Green Belt would stay turbine free, for example.
But as part of the consultation, the government would “seek views on developing local partnerships for supportive communities, so that those who wish to host new onshore wind infrastructure can benefit from doing so – such as through lower energy bills”.
Rishi Sunak said during the summer leadership campaign that he backed the de facto ban on onshore wind
The statement said the policy decision came after “positive engagement with MPs”.
And leader of the rebellion Mr Clarke said he was “really pleased” to see a “sensible agreement” reached on the issue.
Campaigners and energy firms also praised the change of heart, with Octopus Energy saying the removal of “red tape” would help cut the UK’s dependency on fossil fuels.
But Labour’s Lisa Nandy accused ministers of being “in office but not in power”, saying: “Fresh from rolling over to their MPs on housing targets, they are now being forced into this position because they’re too weak to stand up to another backbench rebellion.
“We will need to see the detail, but if it is some sort of fudge that leaves in place a very restrictive system for onshore wind – the cheapest, cleanest form of power – would continue to deny Britain lower energy bills and improved energy security during an energy crisis.”
Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse said the government had £”dragged their feet for years” over the decision, but also questioned if the U-turn went far enough.
“Even this U-turn would make it far too difficult to get onshore wind projects off the ground,” she said. “Renewable energy companies will face having to jump through hoops meaning we risk seeing a de facto ban on onshore wind remaining in place.
“Why is it that this Conservative government is always behind the curve on Climate Action?”
The technical consultation on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework will be launched this month and conclude by April 2023.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan for Israel to take full military control of the Gaza Strip has been condemned, amid fears a reoccupation could put the lives of Palestinians and the remaining Israeli hostages at risk.
Asked in a Fox News interview on Thursday if Israel would “take control of all of Gaza”, the prime minister replied: “We intend to, in order to assure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza.”
Latest updates from war in Gaza
“We don’t want to keep it. We want to have a security perimeter,” he continued. “We want to hand it over to Arab forces that will govern it properly without threatening us and giving Gazans a good life.”
Israel already controls around 75% of Gaza and has largely sealed its borders.
To take full control, it would need to launch ground operations in the remaining areas that have not been destroyed, where most of Gaza’s two million population have sought refuge.
Israel’s security cabinet, which would need to approve the military operations, began a meeting on Thursday evening, but for now no official announcement has been made.
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Netanyahu on Israel’s plans for Gaza
Plan will ‘put hostages and soldiers in danger’
The plan has been criticised by many, including families of hostages being held by Hamas and a top Israeli Defence Force (IDF) official.
Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, said Mr Netanyahu promised her that he would pursue a deal to free the hostages.
She said in a post on X: “Someone who talks about a comprehensive deal doesn’t go and conquer the Strip and put hostages and soldiers in danger.
“Netanyahu and his partners are about to condemn [Matan] to death.”
Israel’s military chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, has warned against occupying Gaza, saying it would endanger the hostages and put further strain on the IDF, according to Israeli media reports.
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In an illustration of the kind of opposition Israel could face internationally if it purses the plan, a Jordanian official aid Arabs would “only support what Palestinians agree and decide on”.
“Security in Gaza must be done through legitimate Palestinian institutions,” the source said.
“Arabs will not be agreeing to Netanyahu’s policies nor clean his mess.”
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Israeli hostage families sail near Gaza
At least 42 more Palestinians killed by Israeli fire, say hospitals
It comes after at least 42 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes and shootings across southern Gaza on Thursday, according to local hospitals.
At least 13 of those people were seeking aid in an Israeli military zone where UN aid convoys are regularly overwhelmed by desperate crowds and looters.
An Israeli soldier, standing next to an Israeli flag, looks out across Gaza. Pic: Reuters
Another two were killed on roads leading to sites run by the Israel- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies.
The GHF said there were no violent incidents at or near its sites on Thursday.
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The war in Gaza began when Hamas killed about 1,200 people – mostly civilians – in its attack on 7 October 2023 and abducted 251 others. They still hold approximately 50 of those hostages – with 20 believed to be alive – after most of the others were released in ceasefires or other deals.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between militants and civilians in its count.
Vladimir Putin has played down the possibility of a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying that while it is possible, certain conditions must be met.
The Russian president was responding to an American proposal of a trilateral meeting between him, the Ukrainian president and Donald Trump.
The idea was floated by Steve Witkoff, the US president’s envoy during talks with Mr Putin on Wednesday, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said.
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Mr Ushakov said the three-way option was “simply mentioned by the American representative during the meeting in the Kremlin”.
He added, however: “This option was not specifically discussed.”
On the prospect of meeting Mr Zelenskyy, Vladimir Putin said: “I have already said many times that I have nothing against it in general – it is possible.”
However, he distanced himself from any such meeting happening soon, adding: “But certain conditions must be created for this. Unfortunately, we are still far from creating such conditions.”
Pic: AP
Mr Zelenskyy offered to speak to Vladimir Putin in May, challenging him to meet in Istanbul for talks on ending the war in Ukraine – an invitation the Russian leader declined.
While a trilateral meeting appears to be off the agenda, Mr Ushakov said an agreement had been reached for Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to meet “in the coming days”.
After the US president touted a “very good prospect” of the leaders meeting for Ukraine ceasefire talks, Mr Ushakov said on Thursday that Russian and American officials had started working on the details.
“At the suggestion of the American side, an agreement was essentially reached to hold a bilateral meeting at the highest level in the coming days,” he said.
“We are now beginning concrete preparations together with our American colleagues.”
Regarding a trilateral meeting, Mr Ushakov said: “We propose, first of all, to focus on preparing a bilateral meeting with Trump, and we consider it most important that this meeting be successful and productive.”
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Will Putin agree to Trump’s condition to meet Zelenskyy?
It would be the first time the two leaders have met since Mr Trump returned to office, and follows a three-hour meeting between Mr Putin and Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Wednesday.
Following the meeting, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it appeared that Russia was “more inclined to a ceasefire”.
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The Ukrainian president said he planned to speak on Thursday to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as well as contacts from France and Italy.
He said he planned to discuss a ceasefire, a leaders’ summit and long-term security, adding: “Ukraine has never wanted war and will work toward peace as productively as possible.”
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A poll from Gallup suggests 69% of Ukrainians support a negotiated end to the war with Russia – an almost complete reversal from 2022, when 73% favoured fighting until victory.
Most said they were sceptical the war would end soon, with 68% saying they believed it was unlikely that active fighting would stop within the next 12 months.
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Trump vowed to end Ukraine war in first 24 hours of his presidency – nearly 200 days in, could he be close?
Seven hours is a long time in US politics.
At 10am, Donald Trump accused Russia of posing a threat to America’s national security.
By 5pm, Mr Trump said there was a “good prospect” of him meeting Vladimir Putin “soon”.
There had, he claimed, been “great progress” in talks between his special envoy Steve Witkoff and the Russian president.
It’s difficult to gauge the chances of a meeting between the two leaders without knowing what “great progress” means.
Is Russia “inclined” towards agreeing a ceasefire, as Ukraine’s president now claims?
Is Mr Putin prepared to meet with his Ukrainian foe, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, too?
The very fact that we’re asking those questions suggests something shifted on a day when there was no expectation of a breakthrough.
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Mr Trump repeatedly vowed to end the war within 24 hours of becoming president.
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