The Unite union who backs Labour has hit out at the government’s net zero plans and has told Ed Milliband “the time to act is now” as they are risking a “political milestone.”
Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary said the union is “not against net zero,” but “will not be achieved without serious investment in new jobs.”
Graham added, “Unite has warned time after time, that all the rhetoric about a joined up industrial strategy and future jobs must be backed up with serious investment that actually delivers. What is Labour waiting for? The time to act is now.
“If they fail to do this, then Labour cannot expect workers to support their Net Zero plan.”
Tony Blair has warned that limiting fossil fuels with net zero is “doomed to fail,” whilst the GMB unions slammed Labour’s energy policy as “bonkers” and general secretary Gary Smith said cutting investment in the North Sea oil and gas is “absolute madness.”
The Tony Blair Institute said that politics is moving voters away from net zero as people will have to make “financial sacrifices and changes in lifestyle.”
Tony Blair wrote, “These are the inconvenient facts, which mean that any strategy based on either ‘phasing out’ fossil fuels in the short term or limiting consumption is a strategy doomed to fail.”
The Tony Blair Institute said in a statement, “The report is clear that we support the Government’s 2050 net zero targets.”
Environment Secretary Steve Reed told Times Radio that Blais is “making a valid and important contribution to a very significant debate.”
Reed told GB News that Blair’s getting involved is “helpful” he added, “You have to be pragmatic with these things. We have to manage the transition in a way that people and the economy can go along with it.”
Conservative energy spokesman Andrew Bowie said, “No amount of contrived backtracking can cover for the fact that Tony Blair clearly thinks the Labour Party’s approach to Net Zero is causing hardship for the British people.”
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