Energy and Net Zero: A New Approach for a Reformed Britain

Britain’s energy policy is failing the very people it is meant to serve

Britain’s energy policy is failing the very people it is meant to serve. Bills are high, energy security is weak, and families and businesses are paying the price for a rigid, ideological approach to Net Zero that prioritises targets over reality.

Caring about the environment should not mean making people poorer, industries uncompetitive, or the country more dependent on foreign energy. Yet that is exactly where current policy has taken us.

The Problem With Net Zero by 2050

The legally binding Net Zero by 2050 target has become an article of faith in Westminster — rarely questioned, never recalibrated, and imposed regardless of cost.

The result?

• Higher household energy bills

• Green levies and policy costs quietly added to electricity prices

• Manufacturing and heavy industry pushed overseas

• Greater reliance on imported gas and electricity

So-called “green levies” alone account for hundreds of pounds a year on the average household bill, paid not through transparent taxation but hidden charges. These costs fall hardest on lower-income households and pensioners — the very people least able to absorb them.

Net Zero has not been pursued pragmatically. It has been pursued dogmatically.

It is pointless achieving Net Zero by 2050 if we are all speaking Russian. Energy is an issue of national security. Our strategic enemies understand this, why doesn’t our government understand?

Energy Independence Has Been Sacrificed

At the same time, Britain has turned its back on its own energy resources.

The UK still sits on significant reserves of North Sea oil and gas, produced under far stricter environmental standards than many foreign suppliers. Yet we increasingly import energy from abroad — including LNG shipped halfway around the world with a much higher carbon footprint.

This is the worst of all worlds:

• higher emissions globally

• higher prices at home

• fewer British jobs

• weaker national security

An energy policy that outsources production but keeps consumption is not environmental leadership — it is hypocrisy.

Reform UK’s Alternative: Pragmatism Over Posturing

Reform UK argues for a fundamentally different approach.

Reform would:

• Scrap the Net Zero by 2050 target, recognising that it is economically damaging and unrealistic

• Remove green levies from energy bills to bring immediate relief to households

• Fully support North Sea oil and gas, protecting jobs and boosting domestic supply

• Revisit fracking, where it can be done safely, to strengthen energy security

This is not climate denial. It is energy realism.

Can We Protect the Environment Without Punishing People?

The debate is too often framed as a false choice: save the planet or keep bills low.

That is wrong.

Britain can pursue what might be called pragmatic environmentalism:

• investing in innovation rather than bans

• supporting cleaner technologies without forcing premature transitions

• reducing emissions through efficiency and modernisation, not deindustrialisation

True environmental progress comes from better technology, not from pricing ordinary people out of heat, light, and mobility.

Jobs, Industry, and the Undecided Middle

For many voters — especially those undecided or politically homeless — the concern is simple: why should Britain go further and faster than everyone else, at greater cost, while global emissions continue to rise?

China and India are expanding fossil fuel use. The UK accounts for around 1% of global emissions. Destroying domestic industry to make a symbolic point does not change the climate — it just moves emissions elsewhere.

A sensible policy protects:

• British jobs

• British industry

• British households

while still encouraging cleaner energy where it makes sense.

A Choice About Priorities

Energy policy is ultimately about priorities.

Do we want a system that:

• keeps energy affordable

• strengthens national resilience

• supports innovation and gradual transition

Or one that:

• locks in high costs

• undermines competitiveness

• and treats dissent as heresy?

Reform UK’s position is clear: you can care about the environment and care about people at the same time.

Britain needs an energy policy rooted in realism, fairness, and national interest — not one driven by arbitrary deadlines and wishful thinking.