Rishi Sunak confirms he’s delaying ban on new petrol and diesel cars and boosts boiler upgrade scheme
Rishi Sunak has confirmed he will be easing a series of green policies under a “new approach” designed to protect “hard-pressed British families” from “unacceptable costs”.
Delivering a speech from Downing Street, he said he is still committed to reaching net zero by 2050, but the transition can be done in a “fairer and better way”.
Announcing a raft of U-turns, the prime minister confirmed he will delay a ban on the sale of new diesel and petrol cars by five years and a weakening of targets to phase out gas boilers.
He also said a “worrying set of proposals” that had emerged during debates on net zero would be scrapped, including:
- For government to interfere in how many passengers you can have in your car
- To force you to have seven different bins in your home
- To make you change your diet and harm British farmers by taxing meat
- To create new taxes to discourage flying or going on holiday
“Our destiny can be of our own choosing,” Mr Sunak said – while calling for politicians to be “honest” about the costs of green policies on families.
Politics live: Rishi Sunak gives speech from Downing Street
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‘No rights to impose costs on people’
The measures have faced criticism from across the political spectrum as well as from businesses, environmental groups and even former US vice president Al Gore.
Labour accused the prime minister of “dancing to the tune” of net zero-sceptic Tories and said the plans would actually add more costs to households while damaging investor confidence.
Explaining the government’s decision to delay the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars – currently due in 2030 – by five years, Mr Sunak said this would give businesses “more time to prepare”.
He also said people would still be allowed to buy secondhand diesel and petrol cars after that date and this would align the UK’s approach with countries across Europe, Canada and many US states.
In weakening the plan to phase out gas boilers from 2035, Mr Sunak said households would “never” be forced to “rip-out their existing boiler and replace it with a heat pump”.
This will only be required when people are due to change their boiler anyway and there will be an exception for households for whom that will be the hardest.
Mr Sunak also announced an increase to the boiler upgrade scheme, saying rather than banning boilers “before people can afford the alternative” the government is going to “support them to make the switch” to heat pumps.
He said: “The boiler upgrade scheme which gives people cash grants to upgrade their boiler will be increased by 50% to seven and a half thousand pounds.
“There are no strings attached. The money will never need to be repaid.”
Landlord efficiency targets scrapped
Mr Sunak has also scrapped plans to force landlords to upgrade the energy efficiency of their properties, saying some property owners would have been forced to “make expensive upgrades” within two years and that would inevitably impact renters.
“You could be looking at a bill of £8,000, and even if you’re only renting, you’re more than likely to see some of that passed on in higher rents,” he said.
“That’s just wrong, so those plans will be scrapped.”
Despite the “new approach”, the prime minister insisted the UK would meet its international obligations on climate change – such as those made under the Paris Climate Accords.
He went on to defend the UK’s record, arguing the country is “so far ahead” of other countries in the world when it comes to cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
PM wants to portray himself as a leader prepared to take unpopular decisions his predecessors weren’t
For all the rhetoric about democracy and real political change – today’s speech was fundamentally about the Prime Minister giving into the concerns of many in his party about the costs of the green policies set out by Boris Johnson’s government.
Labour see these announcements as projecting fundamental political weakness: 20 points behind in the polls and struggling to meet the majority of his five pledges, Rishi Sunak urgently needs to find a way to connect with voters struggling during the cost of living crisis. He’s keen to win over the right wing Tory backbenchers concerned about the electoral danger of expensive environmental policies like the ULEZ expansion which was widely seen to have cost Labour the Uxbridge by election.
It’s an impression underlined by the hurried way the announcement was made – less than 24 hours after these controversial change in tack was leaked to the media, prompting a huge backlash from business and many in his own party. Making such a key speech in the Downing Street media briefing room – rather than to Parliament, also looks chaotic.
It’s sent the Speaker into a fury, earning a humiliating rebuke. “Ministers are answerable to MPs – we do not have a presidential system here,” Sir Lindsey Hoyle thundered. For a man like Mr Sunak, who prides himself on being a sensible pragmatist – the complete opposite to the cavalier Boris Johnson – it’s surely a criticism that will sting, though it’s hardly unexpected.
The irony is that Rishi Sunak opened his speech by pledging to put the long term interests of the country before the short term political needs of the moment. Climate campaigners, for whom nothing could be more urgent, will surely scoff at this.
But in the framing of his speech – as the first of a series of long term policy decisions in a ‘new kind of politics’ – the Prime Minister and his team are keen to burnish his reputation as a pragmatic reformer, prepared to take the kind of unpopular decisions his predecessors weren’t. Certainly many in his party have been calling for a change in approach, a new bolder strategy to set out a greater distance with Labour – and it seems he has been listening.
The PM’s key arguments – that government shouldn’t impose unnecessary or heavy handed costs on hard working people, and relying on the market to drive change – are a return to classic Conservatism.
But his core argument that the need for action is less urgent than we have previously been led to believe, because of the UK’s success in meeting existing climate targets – is not one which will sit easily with green minded MPs.
And while he spent a key part of the speech concentrating on the importance of green technological innovation, and celebrating the power of the market in delivering progress – that will surely stick in the throat of companies who’ve spent billions getting ready to meet targets which have now been delayed. Many in his own party are concerned about the reputational damage to the UK as a centre of business investment.
He’s well aware that today’s message will be deeply unpopular with some – but promised to ‘meet any resistance’. Many Tory MPs will welcome that more bullish approach; but his promise to deliver ‘pragmatism and not ideology’ is pure Sunak.
The question now is in the hands of voters – do they buy into this argument that the country can reach Net Zero by 2050 without many of the policies designed to get there? Or in the midst of the cost of living crisis – will they be delighted to avoid the cost of paying for them?
‘Act of weakness’
Among the critics, Ed Miliband, Labour’s Shadow Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary, said: “Today is an act of weakness from a desperate, directionless prime minister, dancing to the tune of a small minority of his party. Liz Truss crashed the economy and Rishi Sunak is trashing our economic future.
“Having delivered the worst cost of living crisis in generations, the prime minister today loads more costs onto the British people.”
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said: “This is a prime minister who simply doesn’t understand and cannot grasp for Britain the opportunities for jobs and our economy of driving forward with action on clean energy.”
There was also criticism from the car industry and energy industry.
Chis Norbury, the chief executive of the E.ON energy firm, said it was a “false argument” that green policies can only come at a cost, arguing they deliver affordable energy while boosting jobs.
He said companies wanting to invest in the UK need “long-term certainty” while communities now risk being condemned to “many more years of living in cold and draughty homes that are expensive to heat”.
Ford cars UK chairwoman Lisa Brankin said: “Our business needs three things from the UK Government: ambition, commitment and consistency. A relaxation of 2030 would undermine all three.”
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Rishi Sunak is asked if his net zero policy climbdowns are a result of him panicking about the next election.
Tory MPs split
The announcement comes after last night’s leak of the plans sparked a major Tory backlash and even a threat of a no confidence letter.
Mr Sunak was due to give the speech later this week but brought it forward following a hastily arranged cabinet meeting this morning.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle reacted furiously to the announcement not being made to MPs, who are on recess for conferences, expressing his views “in the strongest terms” in a letter to Mr Sunak.
Tory MPs are split, with some seeing the row back on costly green policies as a vote winner and others fearing the impact it will have on business and the climate.
Senior figures who have backed the prime minister include his predecessor Liz Truss, who said: “I welcome the delay on banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars as well as the delay on the ban on oil and gas boilers. This is particularly important for rural areas.”
Read more:
Braverman: ‘Bankrupting Britons won’t save planet’
Sunak’s messaging suggests net zero is negotiable
What could be scrapped from net zero pledges?
However Boris Johnson, who Ms Truss briefly took over from, said the row back would cause uncertainty for businesses, adding: “We cannot afford to falter now or in any way lose our ambition for this country.”
Mr Johnson’s ally and prominent Tory environmentalist Lord Zac Goldsmith went as far as to demand a general election over the “economically and ecologically illiterate decision”.
The UK’s commitment to reach net zero by 2050 was written into law in 2019.
Climate scientists say urgent cuts are needed to the world’s greenhouse gas emissions if we are to stop temperatures rising to a potentially catastrophic extent.
In the summer, scientists warned extreme heat events were rapidly on the rise due to climate change.
Britain has a chance to compete in the green industrial revolution, but only if the government takes rapid steps to help shore up its industry, according to an important new report.
The analysis from The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) thinktank reveals that while the UK has deindustrialised faster than any other comparable nation in the developed world, it still has a chance to rebuild its manufacturing base and compete on the green technologies needed to reach net zero.
The new report comes as countries around the world compete to dominate green technologies such as electric cars, solar panels and wind turbines.
On Tuesday, the White House imposed 100% tariffs on imports of Chinese electric vehicles, as well as 50% tariffs on Chinese solar panels. The US and China have both introduced vast subsidy schemes intended to buoy up their green manufacturing.
In the UK, despite various government pledges to “level up” and introduce “industrial strategy” schemes, there is nothing analogous to the schemes in the US, China or, for that matter, the EU.
An advantage in certain sectors
The new IPPR analysis is among the first attempts to pinpoint which sectors in Britain’s economy have a chance of competing on a global basis. It finds that while the UK has indeed deindustrialised far more quickly than other G7 nations, it still has a comparative advantage in certain sectors.
These include the manufacture of heat pumps, wind turbines and green transport, including electric cars and trains.
The analysis will be closely watched, as the IPPR is seen as the leading left-leaning thinktank in the UK, with close links to the Labour Party. Although Rachel Reeves has ditched her party’s pledge to increase green investment to £28bn, she and her colleagues are understood to be eagerly awaiting the IPPR report as she builds her own plan for UK industry.
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Biden on Chinese electric vehicle tariffs
George Dibb, IPPR’s associate director for economic policy, said: “We’ve identified over 150 different products that are vital to the net zero transition. The UK already has a competitive edge in various of them compared to other countries. So we need to take those but we need to build on that to need to go further.
“We highlight three areas in particular: heat pumps, green transport, and wind. In those three sectors – that’s where the UK economy is particularly well placed to take advantage of those future facing growth opportunities.
He added: “There’s a race towards net zero. The US, Europe and China are all fighting it out for this investment. Companies need to know the UK is a place to go. So one of the things that we need [from the government] is a real industrial strategy.”
The political reaction
Labour’s shadow secretary for energy security and net zero, Ed Miliband, said: “With our abundant natural resources, Britain can be a world leader in green industries. But we are being let down by a clown car government that is letting jobs go overseas and waving the white flag for British industries.
“Labour says it is time for a new era of industrial policy- we unapologetically care about what Britain makes, where we make it, and how we make it. That is why we will set up GB Energy, a publicly owned energy company, and a National Wealth Fund to invest in rebuilding the strength of our national industries.”
Business
Landlords ‘holding parliament hostage’ over threat of selling up – as peers urged to ‘rescue’ Renters Reform Bill
Landlords have been accused of “holding parliament hostage” with the threat of selling up to stop tenants’ rights from being strengthened.
A fresh row erupted on the eve of the controversial Renters Reform Bill coming to the House of Lords for its second reading, as one landlord group warned of a supply crisis in the private sector.
Analysis of government data by the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) found that in the last six months of 2023, 45% of people in need of homeless prevention support said the reason was because the property owner planned to sell.
This was more than twice as much as the next most common reason, which was landlords planning to re-let the property.
Separately, data from Rightmove found that 50,000 rental properties are needed to bring the supply of rental homes back to pre-pandemic levels.
The NRLA said landlords need “confidence to stay in the market” and warned peers against attempting to strengthen the reform bill to give renters more rights, after MPs in the Commons watered it down.
They said the data comes in the wake of concerns being raised by campaign group Generation Rent, who have warned that landlords selling up is a leading cause of homelessness.
But Generation Rent accused the NRLA of “cynically” using their concerns “to hold parliament hostage to the idea that they will sell up over even the smallest strengthening of tenants’ rights”.
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One million renters forced to move
Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent, said: “Long term, if landlords sell up it makes little difference to the housing market.
“Bricks and mortar do not sink into the ground, and the home could be bought by another landlord, a first-time buyer or even repurposed for social housing.
“There will always be some landlords wanting to sell, for example because they are retiring or because their mortgages have become too costly.”
‘Relocation relief required for renters’
Mr Twomey said the short-term issue is that “tenants have an appalling lack of protection when landlords choose to sell up”.
He called on ministers to incentivise homes being sold to existing tenants if they can afford to buy, or incentivise selling homes with sitting tenants so they can stay in the property if it changes ownership to a new landlord.
The campaign group also want landlords to be prevented from selling a property for two years after a tenancy has begun, and a relocation relief for renters evicted through no fault of their own so they don’t need to pay for the final two months rent while they look for a new home.
Why are landlords selling up?
The NRLA said there are various reasons for landlords selling up but the key issues are growing costs and uncertainty over the Renters Reform bill.
The legislation, intended to redress the power balance between renters and landlords, has been mired in delay and controversy with the government heavily criticised for diluting some of its flagship proposals, including the ban on no-fault evictions.
First promised by the Tories five years ago, the ban has been delayed indefinitely pending court reforms, in what has widely been seen as a concession to landlords.
Read more:
Almost one million renters given no-fault evictions
More than 100 MPs earn over £10,000 a year as landlords
Peers urged to ‘rescue’ reform bill
The Renters Reform Coalition, which includes Generation Rent, has called on peers to “rescue this watered down bill”, saying it is a failure in its current form and “will preserve the central power imbalance at the root of why renting in England is in crisis”.
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The RCC want a package of reforms including the end of no-fault evictions, four months’ notice when they are evicted rather than two and limiting in-tenancy rent increases in line with inflation or wage growth.
As well as insecure tenancies, renters are facing soaring rents and poor conditions amid a wider housing crisis which at its heart is a problem of insufficient supply and spiralling affordability.
Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, acknowledged the wider problems and said that “all parties need to accept widespread calls for policies to boost supply in the private rented sector”.
He added: “Landlords selling up is the single biggest challenge renters face. The only answer is to ensure responsible landlords have the confidence to stay in the market and sustain tenancies.
“As peers debate the Renters (Reform) Bill, it is vital that it works for landlords as well as tenants. As it stands it would achieve this balance. We are calling on peers to support the Bill to give the sector certainty about the future.”
A new twist in the safety crisis engulfing Boeing could see the airline prosecuted over the 737 MAX 8 crashes in 2018 and 2019 that left 346 people dead.
It was revealed late on Tuesday that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) had filed a case accusing the planemaker of breaching its obligations in a 2021 agreement that shielded Boeing from criminal prosecution over the crashes.
Then, Boeing agreed to pay $2.5bn to resolve the investigation into its conduct, compensate victims’ relatives and overhaul its compliance practices.
The terms of that deal – known as a deferred prosecution agreement – were due to expire in January this year but, two days beforehand, a Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft operated by Alaska Airlines suffered a mid-air panel blowout.
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Moment Alaska Airlines plane makes emergency landing
The blowout has been the subject of multi-agency investigations, including by the DoJ.
Its court filing exposes Boeing to a potential criminal prosecution over the 2018 and 2019 crashes that could carry further steep financial penalties and tougher oversight, deepening the renewed corporate crisis and reputational damage stemming from the January blowout.
The DoJ said that while Boeing was now subject to prosecution, it would consider steps the planemaker has taken to address and remediate violation of the pact before determining how to proceed.
It ordered the company to respond by mid-June and said it would make a decision on whether to proceed with a fresh criminal case by 7 July.
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Boeing CEO: ‘We fly safe planes’
“We believe that we have honoured the terms of that agreement and look forward to the opportunity to respond to the Department on this issue,” Boeing said in a statement.
It added: “As we do so, we will engage with the Department with the utmost transparency, as we have throughout the entire term of the agreement, including in response to their questions following the Alaska Airlines 1282 accident.”
The Reuters news agency reported that DoJ officials were to meet families of those killed in the 2018 and 2019 crashes as part of their deliberations.
Relatives of the victims have demanded US officials hold Boeing accountable for the crashes. Pic: Reuters
Relatives have long been critical of the original deferred prosecution agreement, claiming it let Boeing off the hook.
The MAX 8 fleet was withdrawn from service for 20 months in the wake of the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 disaster outside Addis Ababa in March 2019.
All 157 on board were killed.
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Six months earlier, a Lion Air 737 MAX 8, carrying 189 passengers and crew, had crashed in Indonesia.
Poorly designed flight control software was ultimately blamed for both accidents.
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Bolts missing from Alaska Airlines door
The 5 January MAX 9 incident of this year resulted in a new wave of scrutiny.
Regulators have limited Boeing’s production schedules and a widespread management shake-up is under way.
The knock-on effects of the crisis have harmed deliveries and the expansion plans of its customers, which include Ryanair.
The planemaker, and regulators, have been widely accused of failing to learn lessons of the past.
During a Senate hearing in April, a Boeing engineer testified the company took dangerous manufacturing shortcuts with certain planes and sidelined him when he raised safety concerns.
Boeing has denied the claims and any suggestion that it has put profits before safety.
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