Reform declares war on renewables

It was in a plush central London office space lined with leafy wall plants that Reform UK chose to make its big economic announcement today. Attendees were warmly welcomed with a lavish spread of wraps, canapés and even beer on tap – before Nigel Farage and Richard Tice cut to their news: ‘We will scrap net stupid zero.’

Farage was quick to trumpet his party’s anti-establishment credentials, noting Westminster’s cross-party consensus on the environment. Not Reform – whose politicians are insistent they can ‘right some of the wrongs’ of the renewable sector. ‘Reform is serving notice on the industry,’ Tice told attendees. ‘We are going to win the next general election and things are going to change.’ The party lamented the rising costs of energy, with Tice even drawing on a graph of energy bill sums versus use of renewables to back up his point that Britain is being ‘ripped off’. 

So what’s in the small print? Reform’s four new ‘net zero’ policies are characteristically against the grain. The party – which plans to win the next general election, Tice reminded today’s attendees – will introduce a ‘windfall tax on wind’ and other types of renewable energy. Farmers will be urged to ditch renewable subsidies, with the party adamant that ‘solar farms damage our food security’.

While Reform has pledged to scrap Labour’s farm tax, the party has warned that farmers who continue to use land for solar panels will be subject to a ‘special tax’ upon their death – ‘expected to be at the current rate of inheritance tax’. The party will also ban battery energy storage systems built alongside solar farms and has promised to force the National Grid to replace pylons with underground cables.

But while Reform is adamant it isn’t afraid of the might of the renewable industry retaliation – ‘once we start drilling in the North Sea again, we’ll be fine for support,’ one party insider told me – are its politicians at odds with the public on this one? Recent polls have shown Brits tend to be on side with net zero policies. ‘You have to ask the right question,’ Farage responded, adding that environmental concerns can coexist with frustrations at rising energy costs. ‘I’ve been an environmentalist all my life,’ he insisted – before suggesting that while climate change is ‘happening all the time’, it is ‘irrelevant’ to the conversation his party believes is necessary.

With just over three months until the local elections in May, is Reform confident that this latest – and controversial – set of policies will entice more voters to their cause, rather than do the opposite? ‘We’re topping the polls – we wouldn’t be announcing something like this if we weren’t confident in it,’ a party source confided, adding: ‘If you ask people what they want more, net zero or lower bills, they’ll go lower bills every time.’

It’s yet another bid to cement Reform’s relatability with voters fed up with government buzzwords and desperate for straightforward, pragmatic policy. In May’s local elections, the party is gearing up for its first big electoral test since 4 July 2024. It is keen to draw dividing lines between itself and its opponents; today’s net zero announcement could be the biggest one yet.