RISHI Sunak is facing a growing rebellion from big names in his Tory Party over his ban on new onshore wind farms.
The Prime Minister is facing calls from his two successors – Liz Truss and Boris Johnson – as well as from COP26 president Alok Sharma to lift the moratorium on new onshore windfarms.
Sharma, Johnson, and Truss have all backed an amendment to Government legislation in an attempt to lift the ban.
The COP26 president's support means that Simon Clarke’s amendment to the Levelling Up Bill now has the public backing of 22 Tory MPs.
Sharma said he supports letting “local communities decide”, backing residents being given reduced energy bills in exchange for their support of new developments.
“Onshore wind is one of the cheapest forms of renewable power and will help to bolster the UK’s energy security,” he tweeted.
“Putin’s illegal and brutal war in Ukraine has reinforced that climate & environmental security are totally interlinked with energy and national security.
“Faster deployment of renewables, inc onshore wind, is needed to deliver on the UK’s 2035, 100% clean electricity target.”
The Prime Minister is facing a major challenge over planning policy from within the Conservative Party on multiple fronts.
He was forced to pull a vote on the legislation that would set a target of building 300,000 homes per year when around 50 Tory MPs threatened to rebel.
Johnson did not seek to overturn the effective moratorium on new onshore wind projects, in place since 2015, during his time as prime minister.
Truss planned to lift the restrictions on new onshore wind in England, but her ambition came to an end along with her short time in No 10.
Clarke, who has penned the amendment in a bid to force Sunak's hand, is a close ally of Truss and served as her levelling up secretary.
Labour leader Keir Starmer backs lifting the ban, arguing that Sunak’s refusal to do so as a “national act of self-harm, choking off our economic potential”.
