Blair's net zero comments are 'political cover' for Starmer to change policies, says Labour MP

30 April 2025, 11:05

Sir Tony Blair's net zero comments are a 'political cover' for Keir Starmer to change the Government's policies, Labour MP Graham Stringer has said.

Speaking on LBC's Tonight with Andrew Marr, Mr Stringer said he believed Sir Tony's remarks on net zero were intended as political cover for Sir Keir to change his policy.

The former PM claimed the Government’s net-zero policies are "doomed to fail", with environment secretary Ed Miliband continuing to face criticism over his planned targets.

"Tony Blair, I don’t think, would make a big move like this without informing Keir Starmer," Mr Stringer told Andrew.

"He’s been very supportive of him, he’s not doing this because he wants to damage the Labour government, he’s doing it because he thinks he’s genuinely right and Keir Starmer wants to get out of that corner."

Asked if Sir Tony had given the PM the political cover to remove Mr Miliband from the Cabinet, Mr Stringer said: "I don’t know whether he'll dismiss him but I think it’s given him the cover to completely change the policy.

"If he wants to dismiss Ed Miliband or if Ed Miliband wants to leave the Cabinet that’s up to him."

Read more: LBC caller reckons he's got a plan to 'accidentally' achieve Net Zero

Read more: Labour hits back after Blair brands Government's net-zero policies ‘irrational’

Tonight with Andrew Marr 29/04 | Watch Again

Sir Tony declared Labour’s approach is simply "not working" as he said people are "turning away from the politics of the issue because they believe the proposed solutions are not founded on good policy".

"In developed countries, voters feel they’re being asked to make financial sacrifices and changes in lifestyle when they know that their impact on global emissions is minimal," he wrote in the foreword for a report from the Tony Blair Institute (TBI).

Addressing Mr Miliband's future, Mr Stringer said: "I think his policies are in deep trouble.

"Who Keir Starmer decides to have in his Cabinet is up to him and whether Ed Miliband stays if, as I hope, that the expensive rush to net zero is stopped, suddenly it’ll be up to Ed Miliband whether he stays and up to Keir whether he keeps him.

"I think the basic view is moving against net zero because it costs…one of the points we made earlier is absolutely true.

"We're probably putting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by transferring industries to China and south east Asia than we would do if we kept producing things here."

Shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins has previously said Sir Tony's criticism is a "clear message" that the Government needs to rethink its approach to net zero.

She said the sentiment chimes with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch's stance that current net zero targets are impossible to reach, which marked a policy U-turn for the Conservatives.

In his intervention, Sir Tony wrote that global trends including the expected rise in fossil fuel use and the doubling of airline travel over the next 20 years undermine current climate policies.

"These are the inconvenient facts, which mean that any strategy based on either 'phasing out' fossil fuels in the short term or limiting consumption is a strategy doomed to fail," he wrote.

He argued there should be more focus on emerging technologies such as nuclear fusion, sustainable aviation fuel and carbon capture.

Downing Street insisted on Tuesday the Government's approach to reaching net zero "treads lightly on people's lives, not by telling them how to live or behave".

A No10 spokesman highlighted the economic opportunities in the push towards renewables and said they would "drive growth, lower bills and boost living standards".