Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Coutinho’s election warm-up speech slams ‘short-term Starmer’

Claire Coutinho (Credit: Getty images)

Claire Coutinho spent a lot of her conference speech as Energy Secretary attacking Labour and ‘short-term Starmer’, and the rest of it explaining why Rishi Sunak’s policy changes on net zero meant Britain could stay committed to its climate targets. The ‘short-term Starmer’ line is one we will hear a lot at this conference from ministers standing in front of a conference set bearing the slogan ‘long-term decisions for a brighter future’.

Coutinho was as keen to talk about a former Labour leader who she said had ‘clearly radicalised’ Starmer: Ed Miliband. Miliband’s influence over the current leader has been a topic of debate in his own party for a while, and the Tories are keen to exploit those tensions. They also want to remind the public of a Labour party that it rejected in 2015. 

Her case regarding net zero was that the approach had shifted over the years to penalise people at a time when they could least afford it.

Isabel Hardman
Written by
Isabel Hardman
Isabel Hardman is assistant editor of The Spectator and author of Why We Get the Wrong Politicians. She also presents Radio 4’s Week in Westminster.

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