BURNHAM URGED TO MAINTAIN NET ZERO COMMITMENT IF HE BECOMES PM

Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Manchester, faces pressure from some within the Labour Party to abandon net zero targets, according to analysis published in The Guardian. The piece argues that reversing Labour's commitment to renewable energy and low-carbon industry would be strategically damaging. Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, has overseen growth in the net zero sector, which according to the analysis is worth £100bn annually to the UK economy and supports higher-paying jobs than the average across other sectors.

Multiple polls cited in the article suggest that more than 60% of the public support net zero and climate action, with backing crossing political divides. Approximately one-third of Reform voters support the target, the analysis states. At the 2024 local elections, YouGov polling found that for every two Labour voters who switched to Reform, approximately six voted instead for the Liberal Democrats or the Green Party. In numerous constituencies, the shift of Labour voters to parties with stronger pro-climate positions reportedly enabled Reform to win seats rather than direct movement of voters to the right.

Luke Tryl, executive director of More in Common, a non-profit research agency, states that net zero represents "one of the few glues that unites Labour's coalition" and that there is "limited electoral benefit to ditching it and much potential harm." Joe Dromey, general secretary of the Fabian Society, contends that sections of the Labour Party have "been learning the wrong lessons" from the local election defeats. The analysis concludes that Labour has little to gain electorally from weakening its net zero position.