Latest news with #SirJamesCleverly
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Kemi Badenoch faces Net Zero revolt as Tory big beast James Cleverly warns her to ignore climate change 'luddites'
Kemi Badenoch will face a major pushback against her watered down environmental policies today as a potential challenger for the Tory leadership urges her to ignore climate change 'luddites'. Sir James Cleverly will use a major speech tonight to urge her to position the Conservatives to work to 'set the pace' internationally on green technology so the UK can challenge China. The former home and foreign secretary will lash out at the 'negative right' in British politics that claims 'the way things are now is just fine', as well as a 'negative left' that is 'suspicious of technology'. His intervention comes as the Tories seek to take on Reform UK, which has pledged to scrap net zero entirely and whose deputy leader, Richard Tice, has claimed there is 'no evidence' for man-made climate change, contrary to scientific consensus. But it also comes just three months after Mrs Badenoch kicked off her party's policy renewal process in March by saying it was 'impossible' to reach net zero by 2050, a target the Tories had been committed to since 2019. In a speech to the Conservative Environment Network (CEN), the former home secretary, who ran against Mrs Badenoch for the party leadership last year, is expected to urge his party to 'push further, faster and smarter' and 'set the pace' internationally on green technology. He will say: 'The 'let's not move forward' tribe is in a bidding war with the 'let's move backwards' tribe. They're both wrong.' Drawing on Britain's 'proud history of innovation', he will add: 'We can lead once again, this time in the realm of green technology. 'While government plays a role, the private sector must be the engine driving this green revolution. 'The UK is advancing rapidly in renewable energy generation, clean transport, and carbon capture. But we must push further, faster and smarter.' The intervention, Sir James's first major speech since last year's Tory leadership election, comes after Mrs Badenoch declared herself a 'net zero sceptic'. In his CEN speech, Sir James is expected to urge a different course, saying the Conservatives 'must embrace a future where environmental polities encourage investment in new technologies, support the development of new industries, and create the jobs of tomorrow'. The former foreign secretary will also call for the UK to play a leadership role on climate and export new technologies around the world. And he will warn that nations such as China could take the lead internationally if Britain steps back. Sir James will say: 'It's in our national interest to ensure no country – whether China or anyone else – monopolises the resources powering tomorrow's industries.'
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Cleverly has delivered a direct challenge to Badenoch on net zero
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.
Telegraph
7 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Cleverly: We can grow our economy without killing net zero
The Conservatives must not turn their back on protecting the environment, Sir James Cleverly will argue in an apparent split from Kemi Badenoch's approach to green policy. In a speech on the importance of the green agenda, Sir James will say it is wrong to choose between economic growth and mitigating climate change. The former foreign secretary narrowly lost the last Tory leadership race to Mrs Badneoch last year, and some MPs believe he would run again if there were another contest. In one of her first policy positions in the role, Mrs Badenoch dropped support for the country reaching net zero emissions by 2050, because she said she believed it 'impossible' to achieve. Sir James will use a speech at the pro-green Conservative Environment Network (CEN) on Wednesday to argue that it was essential that the party did not give up on the climate agenda. The former leadership contender, from the moderate wing of the party, will call for the Tories to reject 'both the luddite Left and the luddite Right' on green policy. Sir James will say: 'Conservative environmentalism doesn't mean a choice between growth and sustainability. It means creating policies that unlock the potential of new industries while ensuring that we protect the environment. 'It's about finding practical solutions to achieve long-term growth without sacrificing our environmental obligations.' The former Cabinet minister will add: 'The idea that we must choose between a strong economy and protecting our environment is outdated. The future I believe in is one where these two aims go hand in hand, driving innovation and opportunity.' His remarks represent a stark contrast to Mrs Badenoch's pitch in March, in which she declared: 'Net zero by 2050 is impossible. 'I don't say that with pleasure. Or because I have some ideological desire to dismantle it – in fact, we must do what we can to improve our natural world. 'I say it because anyone who has done any serious analysis knows it can't be achieved without a serious drop in our living standards or by bankrupting us.' It marked a departure from the past decade of Tory green energy policy after successive prime ministers backed legally binding targets. The 2050 target was signed into law by Theresa May in 2019. In a draft speech for the annual Sam Baker Memorial Lecture, seen by The Telegraph, Sir James at no point refers to Mrs Badenoch by name, nor specifically cites the net zero 2050 target. But the substance of his remarks casts him as a pro-green Conservative politician, as he says that the UK 'must push further, faster, and smarter' on green technology. The former foreign secretary will say: 'Conservative governments have made remarkable strides in offshore wind energy. 'Our ambitious policies have driven investment, positioning the UK as a global clean energy superpower. This is not just about installing turbines; it's a strategic vision linking energy policy with our economic and national security priorities.' He will add: 'We are caught between two tribes of Neo-Luddites: The negative Right, claiming that the way things are now is just fine, [that] concerns about emissions, habitat loss, and falling yields are scaremongering. 'Their motto: all change, even for the better, is a bad idea. And the negative Left, suspicious of technology. Believing things were better before the car, the internal combustion engine, before the steam engine, before the wheel. 'The 'let's not move forward' tribe is in a bidding war with the 'let's move backwards' tribe. They're both wrong.' The comments will be seen as an attack on both Labour and Reform UK, with Nigel Farage having pledged to scrap net zero subsidies. The CEN said that Mrs Badenoch made a 'mistake' by dropping the net zero 2050 target. Reacting to her speech in March, the think tank said that her speech 'undermines the significant environmental legacy of successive Conservative governments who provided the outline of a credible plan for tackling climate change'. 'Never say never again' Sir James has kept a relatively low profile since losing out to Mrs Badenoch in the party leadership contest last year and heading to the party's backbenches. After a particularly successful Conservative Party Conference in October, he shot to the top of the MPs' ballot before unexpectedly crashing out in the final round of MP voting. A blame game ensued, with some claiming that Grant Shapps, the head of Sir James's campaign, got his numbers wrong and too many MPs engaged in tactical voting for other candidates. But in a GB News interview in April, he did not rule out another leadership tilt, adding: 'I just say, never say never again.' After Mrs Badenoch took over from Rishi Sunak last November, the Tories briefly enjoyed a small poll lead over Labour and were in first place on 29 per cent. But a haemorrhaging of support to Reform UK since has been blamed for the party's dwindling fortunes, with the Tories coming fourth behind them, Labour and the Liberal Democrats in a recent poll. The Tory leader's supporters say that another leadership election could damage the party even further and cause a further slip in support.
