From Watts Up With That?
Essay by Eric Worrall
In the wake of the shock Uxbridge by-election result, mainstream British political parties are questioning whether an unequivocal commitment to green policies is a guaranteed vote winner.
Great Reset U-Turn: Labour Party to Ditch National Car Emissions Tax Zones Scheme
KURT ZINDULKA 13 Aug 2023
Following steep public backlash and a disastrous by-election result attributed to anger over leftist London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s widely despised plan to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) car tax scheme to all of London, the Labour Party has reportedly scrapped plans to campaign on bringing the Great Reset-style scheme to the rest of the country.
“That result in Uxbridge demonstrates there is never any reason to be complacent and never a reason to rest on our laurels. It is reminder that in an election, policy matters… We are doing something very wrong if policies put forward by the Labour Party end up on each and every Tory leaflet,” he said.
However, others are less convinced that the left-wing party will maintain such a position if they are given power by the people, with Conservative London Assembly Member Susan Hall, who will challenge Sadiq Khan in next year’s London mayoral election, saying: “Everyone knows Labour won’t stop with Sadiq Khan’s Ulez expansion, no matter what they say.”
The rapid policy pivots of politicians in the face of the Uxbridge by-election upset demonstrates the shallowness of the British political commitment to the green agenda. The moment green zealotry stops winning elections, they’ll drop it like a hot potato.
Of course, road user charges like ULEZ are only a small part of the total package of green pain the British are enduring. But the cause of most of this pain is not as obvious as being charged to drive your vehicle.
British friends I’ve talked to mostly don’t believe green policies are driving up their energy bills, they have accepted relentless BBC attempts to blame energy company greed for high prices.
This BBC propaganda has succeeded because it is partly true. Energy companies are greedy, on behalf of their shareholders – they are taking advantage of the enormous barriers to entry imposed by excessive British green tape. But energy company greed is not the root cause of Britain’s problems. The root cause is the green tape which has created a near market monopoly for existing players, by preventing effective development of new British energy resources, and is blocking entry by new competitors like fracking company Cuadrilla. This is the root cause of the British cost of living crisis.
There will be an awakening. The Uxbridge anti-ULEZ victory shows there is a limit to British patience. Sooner or later that patience will snap, people will take the trouble to see through the fog of misleading claims and work out what is really happening, and the politicians responsible for inflicting this distress on the British people will face a tsunami of voter dissatisfaction.