The Telegraph dubbed a speech by the prime minister where he reneged on election promises and scrapped measures that were not policy his “best ever”, much to the bemusement of people on social media.
Rishi Sunak used a Downing Street address to ease a series of green policies while setting out a “new approach” designed to protect “hard-pressed British families” from “unacceptable costs”.
He confirmed the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 will be pushed back to 2035 and changes to the Government’s plan to phase out new boilers.
But the PM also claimed to have scrapped a series of “heavy-handed measures”, such as a tax on meat and flying, compulsory car-sharing and forcing people to recycle in seven different bins – all policies that don’t currently exist.
According to The Sunday Telegraph editor, Allister Heath, the speech was Rishi’s “best ever”.
Urging the PM to stay the course in the wake of an inevitable “blob” backlash from “the cultural aristocracy and myriad pseudo-Tories”, Heath said:
“In the neurotic, irrational world in which we live, of course, Sunak’s pragmatism is akin to unforgivable heresy, an intolerable transgression of the boundaries of rightthink.”
Heath said the PM may have to break the law in order to get his wishes through.
“The terrible truth is that Sunak is probably overstepping the mark. He has pressed the nuclear button: he has rejected the CCC’s advice and potentially torn up the fifth (2028-32) and sixth carbon budgets (2033-37). The latter was enshrined into law by Johnson in 2021.
“Sunak’s courage in defying this madness is remarkable, but he must now act strategically if he is to avoid being annihilated.
“If Sunak wants to win, he will need to change the law.”
I’m sure all the major polluters that have him in their pocket will be able to help with that, right?
Related: Rishi ‘seven bins’ ruthlessly trolled over net zero speech
