Markus Andrews

Boris Johnson is being urged to go “further and faster” on climate change, after the publication of the government’s long-awaited strategy for reaching net-zero emissions fell short of environmentalist hopes for a step-change in curbing greenhouse gases.While proposals to replace polluting gas boilers, support the switch to electric cars and plant millions of trees were welcomed, campaigners warned the package was over-cautious, with one expert saying it was more in tune with limiting global warming to 2.5-3C, rather than the 1.5C maximum which is the goal of next month’s crucial UN Cop26 summit in Glasgow.Labour said the plans had been “torpedoed” by chancellor Rishi Sunak, whose Treasury released a report on the cost of net zero which warned that the transition from fossil fuels will require new sources of taxation to replace the £37bn lost from petrol taxes and could curb household disposable incomes.While recognising that the costs of global inaction “significantly outweigh” the costs of action, the Treasury warned that much of the planned investment in green technology will do little to boost productivity or growth, implying a “structural rebalancing” over the long term towards lower household consumption.And it said government will have to intervene to ensure the transition is fair to low-income households, pointing out that £620m investment in electric vehicle grants and on-street charging points risked “disproportionately” benefiting the Tesla-driving wealthy at the cost of poorer drivers behind the wheel of petrol-powered bangers.In an indication of uncertainty in government about the economic benefits of a shift to greener activities, Mr Johnson told an investment conference in London that spending on electric vehicles and battery gigafactories represented “big bets” on the part of the UK.But he insisted that hitting his legally mandated target of 78 per cent carbon reductions by 2035 and net zero by 2050 need not mean downgrading living standards in the UK.“This strategy shows how we can build back greener without so much as a hair shirt in sight,” wrote the PM in a foreword to the net-zero strategy.“In 2050, we will still be driving cars, flying planes and heating our homes, but our cars will be electric gliding silently around our cities, our planes will be zero emission allowing us to fly guilt-free, and our homes will be heated by cheap reliable power drawn from the winds of the North Sea.”Key policies unveiled in parliament by business minister Greg Hands included:• All electricity to be powered by clean sources by 2035, “subject to security of supply”, with massive expansion for offshore wind and solar energy – including 1GW of floating offshore wind turbines• Go-ahead for at least one large nuclear power plant – and possibly two – by 2024, with funding for research into smaller reactors in locations such as Wylfa in north Wales• New “clusters” of hydrogen and carbon capture technology in Teesside and the Humber, Merseyside and north Wales• An “ambition to end sales of new gas boilers by 2035, with £450m to provide £5,000 grants for 90,000 households to switch to heat pumps• An “aim” to make the UK a world-leader in zero-emission flight• A mandate to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 and ensure all cars on the road are “zero-emissions capable” by 2035• Restoration of around 280,000 hectares of peat by 2050 and trebling of woodland creation rates in England• Targets for mortgage providers to improve the energy efficiency of properties on which they have provided loans, potentially forcing homeowners to install insulation and other carbon-saving measures in order to secure lending.Ministers said that £26bn of government investment in a “green industrial revolution” will support 190,000 jobs by 2025, and 440,000 by 2030, while leveraging up to £90bn of private investment by 2030.And Mr Johnson made clear he was relying on the private sector to respond on a huge scale, telling the investment conference: “I can deploy billions… but you can deploy trillions.”Shadow business secretary Ed Miliband said the government plans amounted to only a “tiny fraction” of the £28bn-a-year pledge offered by Labour.“This is a plan torpedoed by the Treasury,” said Mr Miliband. “Once again, it has failed to recognise that the prudent, responsible choice is to sufficiently invest in a green transition.“Homeowners are left to face the costs of insulation on their own, industries like steel and hydrogen are left hobbled in the global race without the support they need, and the government cannot even confirm they will meet their climate target for 2035.“This does not meet our ambitions for British industries to thrive, prosper and lead the world or show the government leadership required to tackle climate breakdown and bring the benefits of a green transition to Britain.”The CBI welcomed the plan, but said there were “still some pieces of the puzzle missing”, with an urgent need for clarity on incentives to make homes energy efficient and plans to encourage investment in carbon capture and hydrogen projects.Chief policy director Matthew Fell said: “To truly transform the UK economy based on sustainable and green growth, we need to push further and faster and make key decisions on how to finance the transition to net zero. An honest conversation needs to happen here in the UK about how we pay to go green”.And TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady described the strategy as “a huge let down” which had failed to implement many of the recommendations of the government’s own green jobs taskforce.“That’s not the way to show global leadership – it’s self-sabotage,” said Ms O’Grady.“Today’s spending commitments will do little to address the yawning investment gap needed to get British industry ready for net zero.”Manchester University climate change professor Kevin Anderson said the strategy fell short of the commitments entered into by the UK at the Paris climate summit in 2015, adding: “The UK’s total carbon budget is more in line with 2.5-3C of warming than 1.5-2.”The document amounted to a “PR machine in full gloss paint mode” at a time when the UK was contemplating investment in the Cambo and Clair South oilfields, investing £27bn in new roads and overseas airport expansions and putting taxpayers’ money into a new liquid natural gas field in Mozambique, said Prof Anderson, adding: “The climate, however, will see through this.”Greenpeace UK described the strategy as “more like a pick’n’mix than the substantial meal that we need to reach net zero” and warned it would make it easy for other countries to ignore Mr Johnson’s pleas for enhanced climate pledges at Glasgow.“Extra cash for tree-planting and progress on electric vehicles doesn’t make up for the lack of concrete plans to deliver renewables at scale, extra investment in public transport, or a firm commitment to end new oil and gas licences,” said the group’s head of politics Rebecca Newsom.However, the LSE’s Lord Stern – who first set out the economic cost of global temperature rises in a 2006 report – said that the strategy “identifies the major steps we have to take to reach net zero”.“It will need strong investment and innovation across the economy and will require strong leadership across the whole of the government,” warned Lord Stern. “The strategy should generate a new and attractive form of growth, but the investments have to be fostered, and some households – particularly low-income ones – will need some help.”And the chief executive of the Climate Change Committee, Chris Stark, said the strategy was “a substantial step forward” which would give Mr Johnson a strong basis to cajole other leaders to step up at Glasgow.But he added: “The critical next step is turning words into deeds.” More

Home buyers could soon be asked to improve the insulation of their properties as part of their mortgage requirements under plans announced by Boris Johnson’s government.Mortgage lenders will be asked to disclose the energy efficiency performance of homes in their portfolio – sparking fears it could deter banks from lending to people hoping to buy “leakier” properties.The announcement has prompted warnings that first-time buyers may struggle to obtain mortgages unless they pay for costly upgrades to prospective homes.The Lib Dems urged the government to ditch the move. “This is an insult to first-time buyers who have scraped and saved to get on the housing ladder,” said leader Sir Ed Davey.He added: “The Conservatives must cancel this plan immediately. Ministers are attempting to clean up their own mess by forcing innocent first-time buyers to fork out thousands of pounds extra, just as an interest rate rise is about to bite.”UK Finance – the body representing mortgages lenders – warned the government that its proposals could lead to a “two-tier market” by pushing some homeowners in negative equity if they cannot afford insulation improvements.“New and newer-build properties are likely to have better energy performance – it could be much more difficult to bring older properties up to standard in a cost-effective way,” UK Finance stated.The mortgage lenders group warned against “unintended consequences that might trap owners in poorer performing properties or create a two-tier market where borrowers pay more but have less choice”.But Downing Street denied that the plans to boost energy efficiency would punish those attempting to get on the property ladder.Mr Johnson’s official spokesperson said the aim of the scheme was “to catalyse the development of the green finance market”, adding: “We would only introduce a policy which was guided by fairness for the public.”On Tuesday the government set out its proposals to encourage green home improvements in its heating and building strategy, alongside its wider plan to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.The strategy revealed that ministers are considering “mandatory disclosure requirements for mortgage lenders on the energy performance of homes on which they lend”.The government will also set voluntary improvement targets for mortgage lenders to make sure their properties have an average EPC band of C or better by 2030.The document said the government reserves the option of making the target mandatory if “insufficient progress is being made”. Only 40 per cent of homes in the UK currently have a C energy rating or above. Mr Johnson’s government said it would also “consider” whether to set a date for all homes to meet minimum energy standards ahead of the 2050 net zero target.Meanwhile, the government came under fire over plans to hand out £5,000 grants to help residents replace their gas boilers with green heat pumps.But just 90,000 of the UK’s 22 million gas-heated households will benefit in a plan branded “inadequate” by environmentalists.Labour also said the plan “falls short” of action need to deal with the climate crisis, calling for a “long-term” plan to retrofit Britain’s homes. More

Chancellor Rishi Sunak will deliver his next Budget and Spending Review to the House of Commons on Wednesday 27 October 2021.Mr Sunak is expected to make a swathe of announcements as he seeks to rebalance the books after the “fiscal meteorite” that was the Covid-19 pandemic saw him shell out billions of pounds to keep the country afloat.A plan for jobs is expected to be at the centre of this Autumn Budget, Mr Sunak having already announced £500m in funding to help people back into work after the winding down of the furlough scheme on 30 September.As part of Boris Johnson’s “Build Back Better” strategy to shift the country to a “high wage, high skill, high productivity economy”, as outlined in his recent address to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Mr Sunak is also being tipped to raise the minimum wage for over-23s to £9.42 per hour, having last done so in his Spring Budget on 3 March when he lifted it to £8.91.He may end the one-year freeze on public sector pay, which last year hit 1.3 million professionals including civil servants, council staff, teachers and emergency services personnel (NHS frontline workers were exempted) in a move the government deemed necessary at the time to rein in the national deficit.Mr Sunak spoke in Manchester on 4 October of his preference for making tax cuts while stressing he is unlikely to be able to do so this time out given that the government borrowed a record £299bn at the height of the pandemic between April 2020 and April 2021.Instead, another council tax rise is thought to be likely, given that the Conservatives have raised local levies every year for the past 10 and could do so again, perhaps by as much as 5 per cent.The Treasury has already frozen income tax thresholds and announced an unpopular 1.25 per cent rise in National Insurance contributions to pay for health and social care, a move that flew in the face of the Tories’ 2019 election manifesto pledge that it would not raise taxes.Climate change is expected to be a key topic given that the Budget takes place just four days before the crucial Cop26 summit of world leaders gets underway in Glasgow.The Treasury has yet to outline its plans for how Britain can pay its way towards realising the 78 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide it has pledged to hit by 2035 and achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.But the government has already trailed the availability of £5,000 heat pump grants from next April to encourage homeowners to dump their existing gas boilers for low-carbon alternatives with a view to phasing out the fossil fuel-reliant precursor by 2035.In a bid to recoup cash, the chancellor might also lower the threshold at which students begin to repay their higher education loans.Currently, students in England and Wales pay 9 per cent of everything they earn above £27,295 per year until their loan is paid off but that could come down to as little as £23,000 in the interests of clawing back £2bn a year more quickly, at no little cost to recent graduates.Keen observers have also suggested the Treasury could significantly bolster its coffers by curtailing tax relief on pension savings for those on high salaries or by capping the amount employees can put aside for their retirement years. More

Boris Johnson missed a minute’s silence held in the House of Commons to honour Conservative MP Sir David Amess due to a diary clash.In a packed Commons chamber on Monday, MPs from across the political spectrum took part in a minute’s silence and paid tribute to the Southend West MP, who was fatally stabbed in his constituency on Friday.Footage from the chamber showed MPs, dressed in black and heads bowed, although Mr Johnson was conspicuous by his absence from the government front bench.The prime minister was said to have been unable to attend as he was meeting with the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on Monday afternoon.He is understood to have held a separate minute’s silence at that meeting before returning to the Commons’ chamber around an hour later to deliver his own remarks on Sir David.Mr Johnson later joined politicians from all parties at an emotional church service for the Southend West MP.Monday’s meeting between the prime minister and first ministers Nicola Sturgeon, Mark Drakeford and Paul Givan was held to discuss the UK’s Covid recovery and preparations for Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow.They were joined by Michelle O’Neill, the deputy first minister of Northern Ireland, Michael Gove, the minister for intergovernmental relations, and Sajid Javid, the health secretary. The secretaries of state for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also participated virtually, along with other ministers from the devolved administrations.Speaking in the Commons later on Monday, Mr Johnson said Sir David died doing what he believed was the most important part of an MP’s job.“That Sir David spent almost 40 years in this House, but not one day in ministerial office, tells everything about where his priorities lay,” the prime minister said.“He was not a man in awe of this chamber, nor a man who sought patronage or advancement. He simply wanted to serve the people of Essex.”And it was in the act of serving his constituents that he was so cruelly killed. In his recent memoir, Sir David called surgeries a part of the great British tradition of the people openly meeting their elected politicians.“Even after the murder of Jo Cox and the savage attacks on Stephen Timms and Nigel Jones, he refused to accept that he should in any way deterred from speaking face-to-face with his constituents.”And so when he died, he was doing what he firmly believed was the most important part of any MPs job – offering help to those in need.” More

Touring musicians face an “existential threat” to their careers from the huge costs and red tape imposed by the Brexit deal, a parliamentary inquiry has found.A stinging letter to David Frost, the Brexit minister, implores him to listen to “compelling” evidence from performing artists who face being forced to give up on the industry they love.The alarm is raised over obstacles in obtaining visas and work permits in the EU, over transporting equipment across borders and over the problems facing artists coming to the UK to perform.Backing an industry warning of “an existential threat”, the Lords European Affairs Committee warns it “is so severe as to force many performers out of the sector”.The government is condemned for a preferring to “pursue headlines rather than deal with the very serious issues accurately and substantively”.And, the committee concludes: “This not only risks substantial damage to an important sector of the UK economy, but may also undermine the government’s vision of a global Britain using its soft power to advance its interests internationally in the post-Brexit era.”The criticism comes after months of ministers refusing to approach the EU to negotiate a visa-waiver scheme, which – as The Independent revealed – the UK rejected last year.The Society of Musicians has warned of many tours being “unviable”, its survey revealing 42 per cent of artists would consider quitting the UK in order to rescue their careers.Boris Johnson made a high-profile pledge to “fix” the crisis, but Lord Frost – the minister he put in charge – appeared to wash his hands of the issue and refused to say it would be resolved.Ministers were then attacked, including by Elton John, for wrongly claiming 19 of the 27 EU countries are offering visa and work permit-free access, when severe restrictions still exist.Labour has since vowed to end the stalemate, by opening its own negotiations with the European Commission and other bodies, to try to revive a deal.In its letter, the Lords committee, said the music industry felt ignored by ministers who “lacked sufficient understanding of the issues” facing it.“The government is putting performers at risk and failing to take the decisions and steps necessary to support the creative industries,” it warned.Yet they are “of comparable size to the UK’s construction industry”, with the music industry alone worth £5.8bn a year and employing more than 100,000 people.Lord Kinnoull, the committee’s chair, said: “The creative sector is important not just to the economies of the UK and other countries concerned but also the enjoyment and wellbeing of people.“It is important that the government rebuild trust with the creative industries and provide the support they need to adjust to the post-Brexit era.” More

Boris Johnson says private sector ‘trillions’ key to tackling climate crisisAll vehicles in the UK will require “zero-emissions capability” by 2035, the government has said in its much-delayed Net Zero Strategy, which sets out plans for Britain to be powered entirely by clean electricity come the same year.In the document, published on Tuesday, ministers commit £620m to zero-emission vehicle grants and more infrastructure for electric cars in residential areas.Boris Johnson said his strategy for achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 shows how “we can build back greener, without so much as a hair shirt in sight”.Announcing the long-awaited plans in the Commons today, business minister Greg Hands told MPs if they did not “take action now, we will continue to see the worst effects of climate change” – despite the measures being revealed just 12 days before the Cop26 climate summit.Labour figures were quick to attack the report, saying it doesn’t go nearly far enough to combat the climate crisis. Clive Lewis, the MP for Norwich South, branded it a “burn now, pay later document” and said its entire 368-page contents is filled with “strategy that isn’t fit for purpose”.Follow our live coverage belowShow latest update

1634655257Police intervene as Gove approached by anti-lockdown activistsMichael Gove had to be escorted by police today after demonstrators involved in an anti-lockdown protest attempted to surround him in the street.The communities secretary was approached by a number of people with video cameras as he walked through central London, with footage shared on social media showing the Cabinet minister quickly being encircled by police officers who moved the protesters back.It comes amid concerns over security for MPs following the fatal stabbing of Southend West MP Sir David Amess last week, who was killed while delivering a constituency surgery.Mr Gove, who was carrying a bag, a file and a drink at the time, was asked by an officer where he was going.He pointed down the street and officers then put themselves between the MP and protesters as they helped him to make his way into a nearby building.Sam Hancock19 October 2021 15:541634655008Watch: PM says private sector ‘trillions’ key to tackling climate crisisBoris Johnson says private sector ‘trillions’ key to tackling climate crisisSam Hancock19 October 2021 15:501634654593PM must scrap plans to ban future Troubles prosecutions – campaignerLet’s step away from the Net Zero Strategy for a moment. A man whose son was murdered by loyalist paramilitaries in north Belfast in 1997 said Boris Johnson must scrap plans to ban future prosecutions related to the Troubles.Raymond McCord, father of Raymond McCord Jr, made the remarks following a meeting at Westminster on Wednesday, which he said “couldn’t have gone better”.“In the wake of what’s happened here today at Westminster, for us and the sake of democracy and truth and justice, [Mr Johnson] has to take these proposals away. They have to be scrapped.”Looking ahead, he said: “We feel more hopeful to see the support. Six weeks ago people wouldn’t have dreamt that this was going to happen. Look what it has built into in a matter of weeks in support. And that’s just from nine people, nine individuals, getting together.“You think what all the victims, if they get together in Northern Ireland, can do.” More

The private sector must spend “trillions” on tackling the climate emergency, Boris Johnson has told business leaders – saying government “can’t do it on its own”.Addressing a Global Investment Summit, the prime minister extolled the unique power of “free market capitalism” to help the UK and the world reach ‘net zero’ carbon emissions.“We must mobilise the markets, we must bring in the private sector,” Mr Johnson told the summit in London, with just 12 days until the crucial Cop26 summit.“Because I can deploy billions – with the approval of the Chancellor obviously – but you, you in this room, you can deploy trillions.”Claiming “post-Brexit freedoms” could “turbocharge” the green transition, Mr Johnson added: “You are very welcome to the UK and you have come to the right place at the right time.”The speech comes ahead of the long-delayed publication of a government strategy for reaching net zero by 2050 – and, crucially, a Treasury analysis of how much it will cost.Overnight, a plan to offer households £5,000 grants to replace gas boilers with heat pumps was widely panned, because just 30,000 will be made available each year.Speaking at the Science Museum, Mr Johnson said there were returns in investing in low-carbon technology – such as heat pumps and solar panels – because “the market is going green”.Remembering a fictional, ruthless US capitalist, he added: “To adapt, Gordon Gekko, who may or may not be a hero of anybody in this room, ‘Green is good, green is right, green works’.”Later, in a discussion with Microsoft founder Bill Gates, the prime minister insisted: “The government can’t do it on its own.”Mr Johnson also acknowledged the UK’s special responsibility to lead the world in decarbonising because, as the first industrialised nation, “we were the first to knit the deadly tea cosy of C02 that is now driving climate change”.He told the summit that the government was making “big bets” on electric vehicles and gigafactories for battery production.However, the strategy for buildings – so crucial because they account for 21 per cent of UK emissions – has been criticised for lacking scale and ambition.Despite previous suggestions that gas boilers would be banned from 2035, that is merely the government’s aim and it is being left to the market to make it achievable.Mr Johnson and Mr Gates announced a £400m partnership to boost green investment, with both sides committing £200m each.In a statement, Mr Gates said: “Our partnership with the United Kingdom will accelerate the deployment of these critical climate solutions, helping to make them more affordable and accessible.“In order to achieve net-zero emissions, we need to reduce the costs of clean technologies so they can compete with and replace the high-emitting products we use today. I call this difference in price the green premium.” More

A Labour MP has called for “buffer zones” to be established outside schools as anti-vaccine protesters target pupils. Stella Creasy said people did not have an “open, uncontested right” to impose their views on others. Anti-vaxxers have targeted schools with protests and legal threats since coronavirus vaccines began being rolled out to 12- to 15-year-olds in England.Some anti-vaxx groups on the messaging service Telegram have been mobilising members to visit areas around schools to approach teenagers to discuss vaccines and spread misinformation.Ms Creasy, the MP for Walthamstow, told Politics Home she thought the government should introduce buffer zones measures around schools amid the protests. This would give local authorities more power to prevent anti-vaccine protesters from gathering in the vicinity.“Children should be able to get to school in peace,” the Labour MP told Politics Home.“For me the parallels are very clear with the buffer zone argument we’ve had about abortion clinics.”Ms Creasy added: “You don’t have an open, uncontested right to foist your views on other people, especially when it’s very clear these kids have said no, and these adults are continuing.”The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has suggested headteachers who believe protests could be held outside their school over participation in the Covid vaccination programme should contact police to help manage the situation.One headteacher in Nottingham said he had been in contact with police last month after staff received threatening messages and an “unwelcome visitor” came onsite as part of an ongoing campaign against the Covid vaccine rollout to children.Anti-vaxx protesters have also sent headteachers fake NHS “consent checklists” and told them to distribute these to parents, in what one school leader told The Independent was a “very convincing hoax”. Videos on anti-vaxx Telegram groups have also shown people approaching students in uniform to spread misinformation about the vaccine and hand out leaflets. The Department for Education has been approached for comment. More