Three by-elections to the U.K. Commons on Thursday, July 20 have provoked a useful panic among the governing Conservative Party. Two of the seats were lost to the Labour candidates, while the third—the seat in London formerly held by Boris Johnson—was just barely retained by the Tories. The senior Tories are beginning to see the writing on the wall for next year’s election. They point out that the population is increasingly angry about the green policies which are a major cause of the economic disintegration taking place across the country, and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s backing of several of the most devastating green policies is the greatest threat of a massive Tory loss in the national elections.
The Telegraph writes: “Senior Conservatives want the Prime Minister to better protect households from the cost of phasing out new gas boilers by 2035 and delaying a ban on the sale of new petrol cars by 2030.”
They note that “Labour won Selby and Ainsty ... thanks to its biggest by-election swing in vote share away from the Conservatives since 1994. Ministers looking for a path to Tory victory at the general election next year are now examining other green ‘wedge issues’ to peel voters away from Labour. On Friday, [July 21] the Labour leadership were forced to distance themselves from ULEZ [ultra-low emissions zone, which fines cars entering London £12.50 daily], a flagship policy of the capital’s Labour mayor, after admitting that the voter backlash appeared to hand the Conservatives a victory in Uxbridge. Tory critics of the speed at which the government is encouraging the transition to make the U.K. a net zero carbon emitter by 2050 said on Friday that policies such as encouraging the use of heat pumps needed to be rethought. The Telegraph can reveal that concerns are shared around the Cabinet table, with ministers considering making green policies dividing lines against Labour at the election.”
