Sunak suggests he could delay or abandon ‘unfair’ net zero pledges

Rishi Sunak has signalled the government could delay or even abandon green policies that impose a direct cost on consumers, as he comes under pressure from the Conservative right to create a dividing line with Labour at the next election.

The prime minister said the drive to reach the UK’s net zero targets should not “unnecessarily give people more hassle and more costs in their lives” as he rethinks his green agenda after last week’s Uxbridge and Ruislip byelection.

His official spokesperson confirmed the government would “continually examine and scrutinise” measures including phasing out gas boilers by 2035, energy efficiency targets for private rented homes and low traffic neighbourhoods.

Downing Street is believed to be considering whether to push back a ban on selling new petrol and diesel car sales from 2030, a vital plank of the prime minister’s mission to achieve net zero by 2050.

Sunak, when asked during a visit to a housing development in the West Midlands whether he backed the ban, would only say “of course net zero is important to me” and that going carbon neutral must be “proportionate and pragmatic”.

Hours earlier, Andrew Mitchell, the development minister, refused to confirm that the ban would stay in place, telling BBC Radio 4 that while it was policy for now, he could not predict the future.

Nevertheless, the prime minister’s spokesperson added that while the government remained committed to the ban, it did not want to impose measures that were “unfair on the public”.

The move to row back on some green measures, regarded by campaigners as tough but necessary, comes after the Tories’ opposition to the expansion of Sadiq Khan’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) was credited with their narrow byelection victory in Boris Johnson’s former seat.

Tory strategists believe they could replicate their win in other newly marginal seats across the country by setting up clear dividing lines with Keir Starmer’s Labour, which has its own internal tensions over environmental policy since the byelection.

Sunak was asked whether he would stand up to the MPs within his party who are urging against net zero measures after former business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg said that “getting rid of unpopular, expensive green policies” created a political opportunity.

“Actually I’m standing up for the British people because I’m also cognisant that we’re living through a time at the moment where inflation is high,” Sunak said. “That’s having an impact on household and families’ bills. I don’t want to add that, I want to make it easier.

“So yes, we’re going to make progress towards net zero but we’re going to do that in a proportionate and pragmatic way that doesn’t unnecessarily give people more hassle and more costs in their lives – that’s not what I’m interested in and prepared to do.”

His official spokesperson later told reporters: “It’s right to listen to consumers and businesses as we progress towards these commitments and understand their concerns. These are long-term commitments for a problem that has been around for a long time. It is right that we continually examine and scrutinise them to understand if they are proportionate and pragmatic.”

Michael Gove, the housing secretary, suggested on Sunday that the government should “relax the pace” on some net zero policies that had the potential to hit voters in their pockets.