Letter to the Editor:

Dear Editor

Conservatives abandon the environment and the economy

So, Mr Sunak believes in reaching net-zero by 2050 he’s just not going to do anything to get there.

Not only is it a tragedy for the environment it demonstrates a total lack of economic sense.

The key reason for mandating targets on things such as electric vehicles and ground source heat pumps was to achieve the scale of production that leads to the famous ‘economies of scale’ that bring down prices, and ultimately make things cheaper for consumers.

The 2030 target was also arguably one of the few benefits to come from leaving Europe. We could forge a ‘first mover’ advantage whilst Europe got their act together for 2035. That could have meant greater innovation and greater inward investment for our economy. Now there will be none of that.

Ford have made 110% clear their view on Mr Sunak’s ‘flip flopping’. I quote, “Our business needs three things from the UK government: ambition, commitment and consistency. A relaxation of 2030 (targets) would undermine all three". It hardly suggests that businesses will see the UK as a serious economic power.

The Conservatives make much of being ‘world leading’. Nearly everything they do has the ‘world leading’ paint brush applied to it. In reality one of the few things the UK was genuinely world leading on was reaching net zero. How much easier now for foreign governments to say “no need to listen to what the UK thinks, they say one thing and do another”.

It's a truly dreadful series of decisions taken by Mr Sunak, done only to appease his Trussite, economy busting back-benchers.

Dare I say it? We need change if we are to reverse this damage and rebuild ‘Broken Britain’. Time for change.

Your sincerely,

Mark Wooding
Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate Central Devon