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Keir Starmer has skewered efforts by his chief climate change adviser to force people to eat less meat by reducing their intake by the equivalent of two kebabs a week.
The prime minister was famously vegetarian for 30 years and did not let his children eat meat until they were 10 but has insisted that he does not want to get involved in people’s personal decisions on how they live their lives.
Sir Keir was challenged after remarks by Emily Nurse, head of net zero at the Climate Change Committee.
In a recent interview, she said: “We are absolutely not saying everyone needs to be vegan. But we do expect to see a shift in dietary habits to get to net zero.”
The amount she was suggesting was the equivalent of two kebabs a week.
But Sir Keir rejected the idea despite his own history of vegetarianism, which came to an end spectacularly when he appeared on a live cookery show and made salmon tandoori last year.
He said: “I’m not in the business of telling people how they should run their lives. I am absolutely clear that we are going to get to clean power and absolutely keep our commitment to net zero because it is so important for the next generation and generations to come. That does not mean telling people how to run their lives. That is not the right way to go about it.”
However, his anti-nanny state position has come as a surprise for some after Sir Keir’s government put down legislation to ban people from smoking outdoors in public spaces including pub gardens.
The move at the time was described as an infringement of personal liberty with little or no health benefits.
There are questions though about whether the prime minister will continue with a hardline on net zero being championed by his energy secretary Ed Miliband.
So far the government has reintroduced the plan to ban gas boilers as well as new petrol, diesel or hybrid cars by 2030. It is also preventing new oil and gas exploration in the North Sea.
