The BBC was really tickled with themselves yesterday when breaking the news about a leak they’d received – a really alarming and irksome leak. What they’d heard through the stealthy grapevine was word that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was seriously contemplating rolling BACK the ambitious – some even insist insane – NetZero goals that had been established by previous British governments and, up to this point, followed by his own.

Governments hate it when they lose control of what they plan to say and when.

And that is precisely what happened last night when we revealed that Rishi Sunak is considering weakening some of the government’s key green commitments.

Downing Street’s choreography, their grid of planned announcements, shredded by a leak.

What got the Beeb’s soap in a further lather was the fact that Sunak was willing to call their bluff. He wasn’t going to “no comment” nor deny it. In fact, it looks like he’s scrambling to get his proposals out ahead of the news now that it’s broken.

…Usually after a leak, folk in government will say they don’t comment on leaks. Not this time.

It wasn’t just a comment, but a statement from the prime minister, effectively acknowledging what we had reported.

He was, he said, committed to delivering net zero – i.e. no longer adding to the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere – but it must be done in a “better, more proportionate way” that was “honest about costs and trade offs”.

In other words, the current approach isn’t proportionate in his view, and others have not been honest about the realities of attempting to deliver such promises.

RATS

The Beeb is also tickled pink about the ruckus, especially within the Conservative Party itself. Tories are all “wetting themselves” as they put it. Golly, they love nothing more than infighting among conservatives.

…The Conservative MP Chris Skidmore, who led a government review into net zero, said it was potentially the greatest mistake of Rishi Sunak’s premiership so far.

Fellow MP Karl McCartney told BBC Newsnight “the wets in the Conservative Party are wetting themselves”, adding plenty of Tory MPs are very pleased.

Keir Starmer’s Labour, being Green cultists to the bone, are predictably delighted with what they see as a major faux pas on Sunak’s part, and are thoroughly enjoying the foaming chaos on Tory benches. This election is going to be lit af.

"Rishi Sunak’s leadership credentials under strain like never before"………..nice try but it's actually one of the best days he has had. Clearly Labour in a flap because of all the publicity it is getting. Everyone has already forgotten Starmer saw Macron yesterday.

— Jeff G (@footballforfans) September 20, 2023

But it seems to me no one is watching the British people. Perhaps they should take a peek. Indulging in all the hand-wringing about the early demise of sacred NetZero goals and mandated elimination of traditional fuels and heating methods is fine, but. How do voters feel about what these same politicians and fanatics have been imposing on them?

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's green policy delay sparks debate, but recent polling suggests he's in tune with his voter base.

76% of 2019 Conservative voters oppose the 2030 petrol/diesel car ban. 🚗

59% resist the 2035 gas boiler phase-out. 💨

86% reject new gas bill taxes;… pic.twitter.com/6vz4wUVstX

— Darren Grimes (@darrengrimes_) September 20, 2023

Voters across the board have been coming around to thinking “maybe this isn’t the best way to live…”

While Britons had supported the new petrol/diesel car ban from 2030 when it was announced in 2020 by 49% to 32%, by July this year opposition had risen to 47% while support fell to 42%

Tory voters in particular turned against the policy, with opposition rising from 45% to 68% https://t.co/Im6smEnbgt pic.twitter.com/CMHm2abTTb

— YouGov (@YouGov) September 20, 2023

General consensus had Sunak publicly laying out his plans on Friday, but he’s stolen a bit of a march on the hubbub, and will address the country tonight. His radical, ever-so-upsetting plan?

Sounds pretty reasonable to me. Particularly when coupled with the admission that the goals have been unrealistic, expensive, and that advocates and governments both have not been entirely honest when promising results.

…Last night Mr Sunak said ‘governments of all stripes have not been honest about costs and trade-offs‘, adding: ‘Instead they have taken the easy way out, saying we can have it all.

‘This realism doesn’t mean losing our ambition or abandoning our commitments. Far from it. I am proud that Britain is leading the world on climate change. We are committed to net zero by 2050 and the agreements we have made internationally – but doing so in a better, more proportionate way.

‘Our politics must again put the long-term interests of our country before the short-term political needs of the moment.’

He’s supposedly pushing back the 2030 ban on gas and diesel cars to 2035, delaying the switch to EVs, and completely redoing the draconian rules concerning boiler replacements and energy efficiency measures. Frankly, it was pure insanity what they’d already mandated people would be required to do.

…Changing the diesel and petrol ban would bring the UK into line with the EU, which has set 2035 as its deadline. Plans to ban the installation of new gas boilers by 2035 could be relaxed, with only 80 per cent required to be phased out by then.

Homeowners may be told there will be no new energy efficiency regulations on their properties. Ministers had considered imposing fines on landlords for failing to upgrade their properties to be more energy efficient. A ban on new oil boilers will also be delayed from 2026 to 2035, with a target for only 80 per cent to be phased out at that date.

Mr Sunak could also announce there will be no new levies to discourage flying, no government policies to make people change their diets, and no measures to encourage car sharing.

Do you see WHAT they already had in the works?

HOLY SMOKES

The way the energy efficiency regulations were set to be enforced, if your, say, 13th century cottage wasn’t brought up to some specified efficiency metric, you were fined, and even prevented from selling it if that opportunity came along.

Levies to “discourage” you from flying? Stay home where you belong, peasant, in your walkable 15 minute prison.

This is how fascist these Green policies are.

They are losing their minds that Sunak is daring to adjust them – not do away with them, mind you – he’s merely tinkering around the edges a bit, even though some parts are only sliding back to meet datelines the EU itself has adjusted.

And yet? The sky is still falling.

🚨 | BREAKING: Boris Johnson ATTACKS Rishi Sunak on net zero

"It is crucial that we give those businesses confidence that government is still committed to Net Zero & can see the way ahead. We CANNOT afford to falter now or in any way lose our ambition for this country."

— Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) September 20, 2023

Good. God. They didn’t boot Boris a minute too soon. Most of this climate cult madness was his doing.

Sunak has support, much of it from fellow Tories who still possess rational brains, and concern for the working class in the UK.

…Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a former Tory leader, said the policies were “irrational and unachievable” and Mr Sunak had “gone to his inner sceptic”.

“The result of all this net zero religion has been that we were driving the costs up on the backs of some of the poorest in the country,” he told Talk TV.

“The reality is it was a sham from start to finish so I love the idea the PM has gone to his inner sceptic and recognised the costs and the people it will fall upon are a disaster.”

Craig Mackinlay, the leader of the 50-strong Net Zero Scrutiny Group of Tory MPs, also welcomed the decision by Mr Sunak as “sensible and pragmatic”.

He said that pressure from backbenchers had influenced No 10’s change of heart, adding: “I hope to mark this down as a sensible win for consumers.”

Two members of the Commons transport committee said the Government had “seen the light” over the cost of banning new petrol and diesel cars from 2030.

Karl McCartney said: “People complaining are Central London eco-zealots who don’t live in the real world and are rich enough to be unaffected.”

The prime minister also has the independent British media with him. This was a pretty scathing take on the entire concept of NetZero.

Julia gives her verdict on Rishi Sunak “watering down” his Net Zero pledges.

“Any politician who tells you they are committed to Net Zero and that your life isn’t going to be made harder, more expensive and less free is telling you a big fat lie!”@JuliaHB1 pic.twitter.com/sMHypqubHi

— TalkTV (@TalkTV) September 20, 2023

A BIG FAT LIE

I’d say they’d been sold a trillion dollar bill of goods, but it’s been shoved down their throats for the most part.

They voted for the rest of it and the people who keep doing this to them.

The choices now still aren’t great. There’s the unicorn fart fascist Labour types, with no oil, gas, or personal vehicles, and your house – which had better meet their standards – is a dark, dank icebox. Or there are the Tories, most of whom at the moment seem to want to take a breather from it, but too cowardly to break completely.

They are all in too deep.

After Sunak’s speech this evening, which side prevails?