𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The Conservatives have pledged to axe carbon taxes in a bid to save British industry. The Tories warned that the regime – which is aimed at bringing down emissions – is forcing factories to close, driving jobs overseas and leaving Britain dependent on more polluting foreign imports.

Kemi Badenoch insisted that it is “madness” to reach net zero by “killing British industry”. The Tory leader said: “As a former business and trade secretary, I have heard from countless bosses how carbon taxes and green levies have made doing business in Britain much, much harder than it needs to be.

“It’s time to reverse decades of deindustrialisation, by doing what Keir Starmer lacks the backbone to do: axe the carbon tax in its entirety.

“We all want to leave a better environment for the next generation, but it is madness to pursue that goal by killing British industry and fatally weakening our national resilience.

“Under my leadership, the Conservatives are backing British businesses and making sure we can secure cheap, reliable energy and get Britain working again.”

Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho said the UK is “losing the ability to make things”.

She added: “From refineries, to chemical plants, to manufacturing, we are losing jobs and factories here only to import more of the same goods from abroad with higher emissions.

“Deindustrialising our economy in the name of net zero is making us a warning, not an example, to the rest of the world.”

Output in the UK’s energy-intensive industries has fallen by a third since 2021 to a 35-year low.

Ineos boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who previously branded carbon levies as “the most idiotic tax in the world”, said he welcomed the announcement.

Sir Jim said: “My energy philosophy is simple. First, energy independence. A country must be able to keep the lights on, run hospitals and protect its people especially in times of conflict.

“Second, energy competitiveness. Affordable energy is one of the single biggest drivers of economic growth and industrial strength.

“Third, green energy. We must progressively lower our carbon footprint but in a way that is practical and sustainable.

“Critically, this must happen in this order.

“All of this points to one obvious conclusion: we should be exploiting our domestic reserves of oil and gas. Not doing so, while importing energy from abroad, is economic and strategic lunacy.”

It comes as the Tories have called on Labour to give the green light to more oil and gas drilling in the North Sea after the Iran war sent prices soaring.

The party is also demanding that an upcoming planned fuel duty hike is scrapped and for VAT to be removed from household energy bills for three years.

Industry minister Chris McDonald said: “Kemi Badenoch has exposed her own hypocrisy given she personally introduced these measures as a Tory Treasury minister. It’s a total embarrassment for her to, yet again, be railing against her own work in government. Her new pledge is wrong, and it would hammer industry.

“This multi-billion-pound unfunded spending commitment has echoes of Liz Truss and would leave working people picking up the bill. The failed Conservative Party haven’t changed, and their sums still don’t add up.”