Rishi Sunak and Steve Tuckwell, the newly elected Conservative MP for Uxbridge, at a constituency cafe on Friday. following a shocking Tory victory in the Uxbridge by-election, cabinet ministers said.
Senior Conservatives want the prime minister to better protect households from the costs of phasing out new gas boilers by 2035 and postponing the ban on new gas-powered cars by 2030.
The Tories have, against expectations, retained Boris Johnson's former Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat amid a dispute over Sadiq Khan's expansion of London's Ultra Low Emissions Zone (Ulez).
Ministers seeking a path to a Tory victory in next year's general election are now exploring other green wedge issues to rip voters away from Labour.
On Friday, the Labor leadership was forced to distance itself from Ulez, the capital's flagship policy.» Labor mayor, after acknowledging that backlash appeared to have contributed to the Conservative victory in Uxbridge.
BY-ELECTION — Uxbridge and South Ruislip
The Tories, who have criticized the speed with which the government is encouraging the transition to a UK zero carbon by 2050, said on Friday that measures such as encouraging the use of heat pumps need to be rethought.
The Telegraph may report that concerns are being raised around the cabinet table and ministers are considering a green policy dividing lines against Labor in the elections.
Senior government officials believe a pragmatic approach that offers the greatest possible financial protection for families above zero could win the vote over Labour's more ideological stance.
One cabinet minister told The Telegraph: “It's about speed and practicality. This is not an area of pure ideology, it is an area of balance. I'm not denying the need for net zero, but making it the highest priority means you end up being a green group with no growth.»
The second said Ulez, who charges £12.50 a day on polluting cars entering London, was «hated» and «very strongly» opposed among Uxbridge voters, adding: «There's probably a more general lesson that conservatives should advocate for reasonable approaches to zero net income. were terrible.
Uxbridge and South Ruislip — Reader Comments
Selby and Ainsty won Labor, liberated by Nigel Adams, in the biggest swing to the Conservatives in a by-election since 1994.
This means 25-year-old Keir Mather is heading to the House of Commons as its youngest member. Sir Keir Starmer, Labor leader, said the result was tantamount to a «call for change».
In Somerton and Frome, another safe Tory seat, the Liberal Democrats were well ahead of the Conservatives by 29 percentage points when Sarah Dyke became the new MP.
But it was in Uxbridge, where the Conservatives Steve Tuckwell defeated Danny Beals, his Labor rival, by just 495 votes, that the Tories had a glimmer of hope for a general election campaign.
The constituency is suffering from Ulez expansion, whose outer limits will reach Essex, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Kent and Surrey when the move takes effect next month.
Both Sir Keir and Angela Rayner, Deputy Labor Leader, blamed the defeat on Ulez's backlash and issued criticisms. Sir Keir said he would «think about» the message to voters.
But people close to Mr. Khan, who is running for re-election next year, have made it clear that the expansion will proceed as planned, despite criticism from his party leaders.
Following the results of the by-election, right-wing Conservatives called on Mr. Sunak to abandon net zero schemes and «return to conservative politics.»
Lord Frost, former Brexit secretary, said: «The lesson, of course, is that green politics is very unpopular when there are direct costs to people, as all the polls do show. This time it hit Labour, but it could soon be us if we don't rethink heat pumps and the 2030 electric car deadline.»
Where Ulez's expansion could affect votes
As Chancellor, Mr. Sunak has been a vocal push for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea, and he is known to be skeptical of some of the environmental policies introduced by previous Conservative administrations.
Senior Tories close to the Prime Minister believe that delaying or changing some of the flagship zero pledges could be electorally beneficial, and are pushing for changes to be addressed in the next campaign manifesto.
One of them concerns the desire to phase out new gas-fired boilers by 2035. The government has yet to say how it plans to achieve this, or whether the goal will be enshrined in law.
One cabinet minister told The Telegraph that switching to other heat sources was «very expensive» for households, while another questioned the value of introducing net zero deposits into the law.
The source said that the approach to this issue was discussed in the Cabinet of Ministers this year. A Downing Street insider said the political debate was not passed on to Mr Sunak.
Banning new gas and diesel car sales by 2030 is another flagship zero net profit promise under pressure.
On Friday, the Tories set a target for the change, with Craig McKinlay, chairman of the Net Zero Scrutiny Group, saying: «This is a wake-up call to warn politicians
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«We need to see the end of the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars until at least 2035, the year much of the developed world is heading towards.»
The debate at the cabinet table seems to be focused on postponing, easing or financially protecting the British from zero emissions policies, rather than abandoning the overall goal.
The commitment to make the UK completely zero carbon by 2050 is enshrined in law. He has the support of Mr. Sunak and many government officials.
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