There are far better ways to tackle climate breakdown, but successive governments have chosen to listen to the fossil fuel companies instead

The new prime minister will be looking for money? Well, here’s £21.7bn lying on the ground. The government could cancel its deranged, disastrous carbon capture and storage (CCS) programme at no cost to public welfare: in fact, it would greatly reduce the harm we will suffer.

Sorry, did I say £21.7bn? That’s the figure the government has been putting in its press releases for spending on this programme between now and 2050. But this covers only the first phase of the project. The climate experts Dr Andrew Boswell and Simon Oldridge worked through the data produced by the government’s Climate Change Committee, which was scattered across different spreadsheets, and discovered that the projected cost of the full CCS programme between now and 2050 is £264bn.

Labour has approved a wave of renewable energy projects, but turning plans into power remains slow. Why is that?

Labour has a race on its hands if it is to lock in its promise to achieve a virtually zero-carbon electricity system by 2030.

Britain’s next prime minister will have to move fast: the climate emergency is raging, high energy bills are driving up the cost of living and the reactionary right is threatening a fossil fuel push if it wins power.

"Is Miatta Fahnbulleh the brains behind Burnham?" asks the New Statesman this week, even coining the term "Fahnbullehism". No, says Charlotte Gill: it's the brains behind Fahnbulleh that we need to be looking at.

The post The Truth About the “Brains Behind Burnham” appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Angela Rayner has been burnishing her Left-wing credentials this morning with a call for a hike in benefits as she joined other Labour big beasts in bidding to join Andy Burnham's top team.

The post Angela Rayner Calls for Benefits Hike in Bid to Join Burnham’s Team appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Prime minister was forced to row back on some policies despite strong support among voters for climate action

Keir Starmer has faced a problem no Labour government has needed to deal with before. His energy and climate policies – core to solving the cost of living crisis – have come under attack from opposition parties, which have made dismantling the agenda one of their top priorities, second only to immigration, in their pitch to voters.

This is new in British politics, where a cross-party consensus on the climate and environment has held at least since the days of Margaret Thatcher. She warned the UN of the climate crisis in 1988; David Cameron in 2006 urged voters to “vote blue, go green”; Theresa May enshrined in law the requirement to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050; Boris Johnson championed the Cop26 UN climate summit in Glasgow in 2021; even Rishi Sunak only tried a partial rollback of green policies as a last desperate throw before calling an election.

Allies of Sir Keir Starmer believe he is preparing to step down as he realises the "game is up" after facing an evaporation of support over the weekend.

The post Starmer is Ready to Resign, Say Allies appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has received an extra £9.8 billion in the first two months of this tax year from frozen thresholds in breach of Labour's election pledge not to raise taxes on working people.

The post Reeves Rakes in Extra £9.8 Billion From Stealth Taxes in Just Two Months in Breach of Labour Pledge appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Keir Starmer has been given 72 hours to quit with "dignity" or face a full-blown coup following Andy Burnham's by-election landslide as the challenger plots a Left-wing "path for Britain".

The post “You Have 72 Hours”: Ultimatum for Starmer as Burnham Plots Left-Wing “Path for Britain” appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Everyone knows that Tony Blair and the Pope issued encyclicals in the last week or two. The Pope's was entitled ‘Magnifica Humanitas’; by analogy, Blair's should have been called ‘Labor Imbecilis’, says James Alexander.

The post Blair’s Encyclical Labor Imbecilis appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Sir Keir Starmer is braced for Ed Miliband to resign next week as part of a co-ordinated coup to force him out should he refuse to make way for an Andy Burnham coronation.

The post Starmer Braced for Miliband to Resign Next Week as Part of Cabinet Coup if PM Refuses to Make Way for Burnham appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Labour leadership hopeful Wes Streeting has said Labour should ditch Ed Miliband's Net Zero targets. Or has he? It's as clear as mud, says Ben Pile, with promises of yet more 'green growth' cakeism.

The post Will Wes Streeting Really Ditch Ed Miliband’s Net Zero Targets? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

According to Keir Starmer, a teenager doesn’t have the judgement to scroll through Instagram without state supervision, but does have the judgement to pick the next government. We are governed by idiots, says Clive Pinder.

The post Too Young for TikTok, Old Enough to Vote? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

After defence secretary John Healey quit over the under-resourcing of the Armed Forces, Paul Homewood has a simple solution: scrap Net Zero, then Britain can easily meet its military obligations and needs.

The post Scrap Net Zero to Boost Defence appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Al Carns urges us to put 'security' at the heart of everything – but is it realism or just the same old security state in greener clothing? Ben Pile thinks it's the latter.

The post Is Al Carns Really a Member of the Reality-Based Community or Just Another Apologist For the Security State? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Ed Miliband will ban the sale of underfloor heating systems deemed to be using too much power in his latest Net Zero drive as he also sets his sights on electric towel rails, gas fires and storage heaters.

The post Miliband Comes for Underfloor Heating and Towel Rails in Net Zero Drive appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Britain is facing a surge in people taking their employers to court, with claims up 55% year on year, following Angela Rayner’s sweeping workers' rights reforms.

The post Rayner’s Workers’ Rights Reforms Trigger Surge in Legal Claims appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

John Healey has resigned as defence secretary over Sir Keir Starmer’s defence investment plan, accusing the Prime Minister of failing to "meet the moment" over his long-delayed proposals to boost military spending.

The post John Healey Quits as Defence Secretary Over Starmer Military Funding Failure appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Can anyone or anything stop Andy Burnham becoming PM now, asks Mark Littlewood in his latest Political Betting column as he contemplates breaking his usual rule and taking the 2/5 odds-on bet.

The post Can Anyone or Anything Stop Andy Burnham Now? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Britain's woke two-tier state has been rightly blamed for the police's appalling response to the stabbing of Henry Nowak. But less understood, says Professor Michael Rainsborough, is the Maoist origins of woke ideology.

The post The Maoist Origins of the Two-Tier State appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

In his recent resignation speech, Wes Streeting attempted to merge Reform, the SNP, Plaid Cymru and Sinn Fein into a mega-threat of "nationalism" to which he was the antidote. But it fell flat, says Dr Nicholas Tate.

The post Wes Streeting’s Attempt to Merge Reform With the SNP, Plaid Cymru and Sinn Fein into a Mega-Threat of “Nationalism” Falls Flat appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.