Cleverly has delivered a direct challenge to Badenoch on net zero

Telegraph

04-06-2025

On the eve of a Holyrood by-election, and with the Tories in fourth in a recent Westminster opinion poll, Kemi Badenoch would dearly love to avoid talk of policy divides within her party or chatter about leadership challenges. Sir James Cleverly has delivered both.
The former home secretary will drive a wedge between himself and the Conservative Party leader on Wednesday night by directly challenging her approach to net zero, which will be met with jubilation by Labour, the SNP, and especially Reform UK.
Conservatives who have not already switched their allegiance to Nigel Farage's party might be tempted to do so through sheer exasperation with the latest evidence of infighting.
Sir James, who was convinced he was on course to become Tory leader last year, before an apparent tactical voting mishap by his supporters ended his chances, has chosen to speak out hours before the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, a poll that will provide a snapshot of just how much the Tories are struggling.
Mr Farage has said he is 'confident' his candidate will finish third or higher, which would mean the Tories - who have finished third in the last three elections for the seat - being relegated to fourth place or even lower.
That would put even more pressure on Mrs Badenoch, who is already struggling to convince some of her MPs that she should stay in the job after a terrible set of local election results last month and a series of defections by local councillors since then.
As the Conservatives scrap for every vote on Thursday, Sir James's disloyalty - for that is how it will be seen in Mrs Badenoch's office - can only harm the cause.
Sir James, who returned to the backbenches when Mrs Badenoch became leader and has never ruled out another leadership bid, has chosen to present an alternative vision for the Conservatives' green agenda in an apparent attempt to appeal to the moderate wing of the party.
Rather than backing his leader's decision to drop support for the UK reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050, he will say that: 'Conservative environmentalism doesn't mean a choice between growth and sustainability.'
Contrast that with Mrs Badenoch's view that: 'Anyone who has done any serious analysis knows [net zero] can't be achieved without a serious drop in our living standards or by bankrupting us.'
Although Sir James will not mention Mrs Badenoch by name, or refer directly to her net-zero policy, his message - that she has got it wrong - could not be clearer.
In case anyone doubted his motives, he will make the speech at the Conservative Environment Network, which has described Mrs Badenoch's net-zero policy as a 'mistake'.
On one level, Sir James has drawn attention to the deep divide between Mrs Badenoch and environmental hand-wringers in her party, who include Boris Johnson, former COP26 president Lord Sharma and Baroness May, who as prime minister adopted the net zero 2050 target.
More broadly, Sir James is presenting an alternative strategy for beating Reform UK: moving to the centre rather than trying to outflank Mr Farage.
Moderates believe Mrs Badenoch has been forced to drop support for the net-zero target in order to keep up with Mr Farage, who has called net zero 'lunacy'. There is plenty of evidence that she is being dragged further to the Right on other matters to see off the threat of Reform.
Critics believe the Tories can't out-Farage Mr Farage and that the only way to differentiate the Conservatives from Reform is to occupy the centre ground from which elections have traditionally been won in the past.
In highlighting a difference over policy, Sir James has presented a separate view on the future direction of the Conservative Party and who should lead it.
The odds on Mrs Badenoch uniting her party before the next general election may just have lengthened a little more.