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Britain has experienced a summer of record-breaking wildfires, deadly heat and drought, with almost 2,900 heat-associated deaths recorded in England during May and June alone. Homes have been destroyed by fires in the West Midlands, and deadly wildfires have swept across Europe.
Despite the ever more visible impacts of the climate crisis, there is widespread concern that there has been no big political push at the centre of British politics or a renewed case for net zero.
Some Labour MPs believe the government’s caution is a huge mistake. One said the the approach was “a failure to recognise where our vote is”.
Jeevun Sandher, the Labour MP for Loughborough and a parliamentary private secretary in the energy department, argues climate is an electoral dividing line Labour should embrace because the party’s voters remain strongly supportive of net zero, even though support has dropped on the right.
“Climate is a fight that fires up our base, persuades the middle and splits our opponents,” he said, arguing Labour should combine a climate message with an affordability offer.
Another Labour MP said: “We’re not remotely prepared for the fact that our voter base is radically changing. We’re trying to ride two horses. Half of our movement is based on net zero and left-leaning values and we’re still running scared of Reform.”
The political pressure from the right has been clear this week. Reform UK’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, prompted a big backlash from nurses, medical experts, politicians and campaigners for urging British people to enjoy the warmth of the recent heatwaves, while dismissing efforts to tackle the climate crisis.
“When it’s a bit warm, let’s enjoy it,” Tice said. “And if it means that English wine and sparkling wine gets better and better, fantastic. That means we can take on the French – fantastic. Let’s celebrate some of these things rather than just be sort of doom and gloom about it.”
Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy and net zero secretary, called for cheap electricity to take priority over net zero targets. In a speech on Wednesday, she said the UK should focus on bringing down the price of electricity and then let “consumer choice be king”, abandoning what she believes are expensive net zero policies in favour of a cheap energy system that will rely on more nuclear and gas.
But people in Britain are not as divided on the issue as the political debate may suggest. Recent polling from More in Common found two in three Britons (67%) are worried about unbearably hot weather becoming more frequent in the UK, while 86% believe climate change was at least partly responsible for the recent heatwaves. This includes 73% of Reform supporters, 87% of Conservative supporters and 96% of Labour supporters.
However, fear over the climate crisis is decoupling from support for net zero. Even as climate concern remains stable, and spiked during the recent heatwave, support for Britain’s climate targets is eroding. While two-thirds of people say they are worried about climate change, support for the UK’s net zero target has fallen from 68% in 2024 to 45% today. Opposition has almost doubled over the same period, from 12% to 23%.
There are different positions on the right, too, with Max Anderson of the Conservative Environment Network saying “slowing climate change by reducing emissions remains essential, but we have to broaden climate debate beyond decarbonisation”.
Luke Tryl, the executive director of More in Common, said: “The public are definitely freaked out. Two-thirds of the country say they are worried about the heat events.
“There is definitely an opportunity here for Andy Burnham as support for net zero hasn’t changed at all among Labour 2024 voters, though it has dropped massively among the [much smaller number of] Tory voters. This is a clear example of elite-level consensus breaking down, leading to public consensus breaking down.”
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YouGov’s polling also shows a split on what should be done to address the climate crisis. The environment has risen to the fourth highest issue on the pollster’s salience tracker, with 25% of people listing it as one of their main concerns. But the usual summer increase in concern over climate breakdown has actually been lower than in previous summers, even as there has recently been an increase in the number of people saying the government is not doing enough to tackle it.
Government figures reject the suggestion that Burnham’s Labour has retreated from net zero, pointing to the clean power 2030 target, large-scale investment in clean energy including nuclear power, the transition to electric vehicles and heat pumps, and the commitment not to issue new oil and gas licences.
A Labour source said: “This government has the most ambitious energy climate agenda in British history. Labour MPs know that this is the right agenda for the country and is essential for uniting our electoral coalition.”
A second source said: “Burnham’s wildfire video shows that this government is going to confidently make the case for climate action.”
Figures say the issue is not that voters have stopped worrying about the climate crisis, but that net zero targets are increasingly becoming associated with personal sacrifice, especially during a cost of living crisis. They argue voters want action, but are less willing to accept higher bills or further costs just to hit targets.
A source familiar with the government’s climate agenda argued that under Keir Starmer, No 10 allowed speculation about a rowback from net zero to grow despite those policy changes never materialising.
But some parties have tried to force the climate crisis higher up the agenda. Zack Polanski, the leader of the Greens, called for an emergency Cobra meeting before Burnham convened one and held a “reality check” conference on extreme heat.
The Liberal Democrats have also argued that Britain needs to become “climate ready”, pushing measures to protect homes and buildings from extreme heat and being “unapologetic” about keeping action to cut emissions high on the agenda.
