Today saw The Spectator’s Energy Summit in full swing, with a variety of panels, debates and discussions about issues from wind power to energy storage and even a review of the Paris Agreement. Naturally Coffee House Shots enjoyed an energy focus too, with shadow energy secretary and Conservative MP Claire Coutinho in conversation with political editor Tim Shipman. And she was pulling no punches…
On the subject of net zero, Coutinho fumed: ‘I think net zero is now perverse.’ She explained:
What’s happening is that the UK is reducing its domestic emissions by importing more from abroad. So actually, overall, what you’re doing is importing from countries which are much more polluting systems. And then you’re claiming that domestic emission reduction in the name of net zero. But actually that’s worse. That’s worse for climate change.
Shots fired! More specifically, Coutinho went after Labour’s Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband – accusing him of putting ‘carbon reduction above deforestation’, something the Tory MP described as an ‘interesting and incorrect choice’:
I actually thought it was very poor that Ed Miliband flew not once, but twice, to the Amazon rainforest, some of which was carved up for the latest climate conference. And then he didn’t even pay into the forest fund, something that we always did. So I mean, he clearly has put carbon reduction above deforestation.
The remarks follow reporting that noted Britain would not be investing in a Brazilian-led fund for rainforests at Cop30 while Chancellor Rachel Reeves attempted to balance the books ahead of this week’s Budget. About the upcoming fiscal statement, Coutinho was blunt. ‘It’s a smash-and-grab Budget,’ the shadow energy secretary insisted.
First you smash the economy. Now [Reeves is] coming to grab all the money that you got in whatever way she can. And I think she’s had a howler.
She basically came in and spent £70 billion that she hadn’t told anyone about. She left herself no margin for error. And so we’ve had a year of massively damaging speculation on what taxes she’s going to need to raise. And that’s made her problem worse, because I’m pretty sure what you’ll end up seeing is that feed into the growth figures, which makes her whole problem worse.
Coutinho cautioned the Chancellor against doing a 5 per cent VAT cut across gas and electricity – stating that instead of slightly lower energy taxes, the Tories would prefer to see electricity bills significantly reduced. ‘I think like so many of the measures that we’ve seen from Rachel, [the proposed VAT cut is] fundamentally incorrect and it is a diagnosis of the problems of the country,’ the Conservative MP said. ‘And it seems like she’s just grabbing for anything that she can find to get herself out of the hole that she’s dug.’ Ouch.
You can hear the full episode with Claire Coutinho, Tim Shipman and economics editor Michael Simmons here:
