The right-wing war on net zero continues
The right-wing press is working itself into a frenzy, accusing energy secretary Ed Miliband’s commitment to net-zero targets of triggering the crisis at British Steel.
On Saturday, MPs were recalled to Parliament and emergency legislation was passed to save British Steel, after Chinese owner Jingye said it planned to close the blast furnaces at Britain’s last primary steelmaking plant.
The Sun is pushing hard for Keir Starmer to replace Ed Miliband in his cabinet reshuffle this summer, as they don’t like that he has stood firmly committed to tackling the climate crisis despite attacks from rightwingers.
After the Parliamentary debate on Saturday evening, the Sun ran the headline: ‘Ed Miliband fears Keir Starmer will sack him from the Net Zero job in Cabinet reshuffle.’
Just hours after, they published another attack piece titled: ‘Keir Starmer must end madness of Ed Miliband’s green crusade which brought British Steel to the brink.’
Yet, Miliband remains popular on the left. A Survation poll conducted for LabourList revealed that, among Labour Party members, Miliband is the most popular Cabinet member, with a net favourability rating of +69%.
The right-wing newspaper branded the emergency recall of parliament as a “national humiliation” for Miliband, despite the energy secretary backing the debate in a post on X, and voicing his support for British steelworkers.
They also said that Miliband’s “virtue-signalling push” for net-zero has fuelled rocketing energy costs, which they claim have pushed Chinese-owned British Steel to the brink.
Other right-wing outlets like the Telegraph have joined the anti-Ed campaign, blaming him for banning opening a new coal mine in Cumbria last year.
However, the government’s manifesto, which it was elected on, promised not to grant new coal licences.
The right continues to claim that net zero is causing de-industrialisation, ignoring the fact that net-zero can facilitate industrial transformation through solar farms and wind energy, while also addressing rising sea levels and temperatures, frequent flooding and other extreme weather events.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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