After their historic and well deserved election defeat, the Tories are not engaging in soul-searching or attempting to rebuild. Instead, the party’s right wing is running further into delusion, abandoning even the pretence of responsible governance in a desperate attempt to outflank Reform UK. Their latest target? Net zero—one of the few long-term commitments the UK had left.
Kemi Badenoch’s claim that achieving net zero by 2050 is “impossible” is not an argument, it is a political strategy, designed to appeal to the conspiracy theorists and climate deniers Reform UK has been courting for years. The science is clear, the economic case for green investment is unanswerable, and the UK’s legal commitments demand action. But the Tory right is done with reality. They are setting the stage for a political future in which climate denial is normalised, no matter the cost.
“It is an unrealistic target and it is a lie that politicians have been telling,” Badenoch told LBC, reinforcing the right’s wider attack on net zero policies.
The damage is already being done. Green jobs are at risk as investors look elsewhere. Energy prices remain high because of Britain’s continued reliance on imported fossil fuels, while renewable investment is being stalled by uncertainty. All of this weakens Britain’s energy security, making the country more dependent on global oil markets and volatile supply chains. And yet, the right’s answer is to double down on fossil fuels, chasing votes from people who believe net zero is some kind of left-wing conspiracy.
At the same time, the effects of climate breakdown are becoming impossible to ignore. Flooding is increasing. Heatwaves are intensifying. Infrastructure is collapsing under the pressure of extreme weather. This is not a future problem, it is happening now. But instead of responding with policy, the Tory right is retreating into denial.
As Professor Michael Grubb of UCL’s Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources explains, “There is no serious analysis which suggests that net zero is impossible.” Yet Badenoch and her allies persist, ignoring the overwhelming scientific and economic consensus.
This is not just about short-term electioneering. The Conservative Party’s right flank is laying the foundations for the next phase of British politics, whether in opposition or in some future government. They are taking their cues from the Republican Party in the US, where climate denial has become a core part of the right’s identity. Reform UK, with its hard-right populism and contempt for science, is leading the way, and the Tory right is following. If they succeed, the UK will be stuck in the past while the rest of the world moves forward.
“Other countries are going ahead, and in the process reaping the benefits of investing in low-carbon technologies,” Grubb points out. Meanwhile, the UK is deliberately slowing down, putting itself at an economic and environmental disadvantage.
The next election will not solve this problem. Even out of power, the Tory right will continue to drag the debate backwards. Their climate denial is not just a political stunt, it is a direct attack on Britain’s future. And the longer they get away with it, the more dangerous they become.
Quotes sourced from The Guardian: Factcheck – Kemi Badenoch’s claim that net zero is ‘impossible’
