Ed Miliband has sharply criticised Nigel Farage for attempting to “airbrush history” when it comes to the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels. The Energy Secretary hit back at Farage’s suggestion that it is “mindless” for Britain to pursue climate action given its small contribution to global emissions. Appearing before the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee, Mr Miliband argued that dependence on imported fossil fuels had played a central role in fuelling the cost-of-living crisis. He claimed the only credible path forward was investment in clean, homegrown energy, which he described as vital for both national and energy security.
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His comments followed an interview in which Farage said it was “absolutely mindless” for a nation producing under 1% of global CO2 to “beggar itself” with net zero commitments. While the Reform UK leader acknowledged that climate change exists and that human activity may have an influence, he downplayed the UK’s role and questioned the scale of its impact. Miliband countered by saying such arguments ignore the lived experience of families and businesses hit hardest by recent energy price shocks. He maintained that remaining tied to volatile fossil fuel markets benefits petro-states and undermines Britain’s sovereignty.
The row intensified further after Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK, sent a letter to clean energy firms warning that if his party came to power, it would attempt to cancel net zero-related contracts, including those in the upcoming Allocation Round 7 (AR7) for renewable energy projects. Mr Tice said that involvement in these schemes posed “significant political, financial and regulatory risk”. He argued that infrastructure such as offshore wind and new energy storage was pushing up consumer costs and weakening grid stability. His warning was met with alarm by clean energy advocates and investors alike.
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Miliband condemned the move as “deeply irresponsible”, warning it threatened tens of thousands of jobs and could damage investor confidence in Britain’s burgeoning green economy. He noted that the net zero sector had grown three times faster than the wider economy last year and accused Tice of playing politics with people’s livelihoods. Responding to Labour MP Mike Reader’s suggestion that his stance had not been “tough enough”, Miliband smiled and said he was “happy to be tougher”, warning that Reform’s approach was out of step with public opinion. “The British people,” he said, “don’t want a culture war on this.”