As scepticism about the UK’s approach to net zero moves to the forefront of British politics, Politics Live 2026 provided a key insight into how narratives surrounding energy infrastructure are changing.
Changing headwinds
Politics Live this year could not have come at a more pivotal point. A week after Andy Burnham’s train journey from Manchester to the Capital became compulsory viewing across the country, parliamentarians and industry leaders sat down to reflect on the shifting political landscape and discuss the challenges to be tackled by the next Prime Minister.
It is well understood that public sentiment towards net zero in the UK is becoming increasingly mixed-negative. Confidence in delivery and clarity about societal benefit is low. Undoubtedly, scepticism in net zero has certainly been intensified by influences from across the pond, with Starmer’s energy policies frequently subject to public scrutiny from his US counterpart.
Both Reform UK and the Conservatives have positioned themselves in opposition to the Labour Government’s net zero agenda, with Reform’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, present at Politics Live and continuing to mount fierce attacks on what he labelled ‘net zero madness’.
Readers will remember that the foundations of the UK’s energy transition were in fact laid by David Cameron’s coalition government, with Cameron stating he was intending for the coalition to be the ‘greenest’ yet. This approach continued to the end of the decade when Theresa May oversaw an amendment to the 2008 Climate Change Act, which set out legally binding targets to reach net zero by 2050. Contrastingly, Kemi Badenoch has overseen a significant shift in the party’s messaging, pledging to take ‘all our oil and gas out of the North Sea’ and remove all net zero regulations for oil and gas drilling companies in the region.
Economic realities are tempering climate ambition
This sentiment against net zero is not unique to the corridors of Westminster. A ground breaking new study carried out by the Policy Institute at King’s College London, IPSOS and the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations has revealed that the percentage of people who believe the UK needs to reach net zero emissions sooner than 2050 has halved since 2021. Meanwhile, the proportion of respondents who stated the UK should not have a net zero policy has risen sharply from 9% to 26%. However, the vast majority of respondents (72%) were still at least ‘fairly worried’ about climate change.
This suggests that concern about climate change remains relatively high, despite a decline in the perceived urgency of reaching net zero. A potential explanation for the divergence in responses from 2021 and 2025 could be the ongoing cost-of-living crisis gripping the UK and a lack of clarity among the public as to how net zero and the energy transition have tangible benefits for communities and their day-to-day realities. In this vein, support for strong climate action, even where it may lead to higher energy costs, has fallen by almost 10%.
The trifecta: Jobs, affordability and security
Among the speakers at Politics Live, there was broad agreement (except from Richard Tice MP) that pursuit of net zero was necessary. However, the language being used to justify this policy has noticeably changed. Where previously much of the political rhetoric heavily stressed the UK’s role in reducing global emissions, this line of argument is not perhaps as palatable as it once was.
In his keynote speech, Energy Minister, Michael Shanks MP, frequently referred to what he labelled as ‘fossil fuel shocks’ resulting from ongoing geopolitical instability. These ‘shocks’ had caused global oil and gas prices to spike, and while the UK was still reliant on fossil fuel resources to meet peak demand, he noted that the country was at the mercy of an incredibly volatile global pricing system. This, in turn, contributes to higher energy costs for UK consumers.
This speaks to two of the pillars of his new messaging: affordability and security. Shanks argued that the implementation of a renewable energy mix would safeguard the UK’s energy security from these price hikes, in turn driving down household energy prices.
He continued by stating that his focus was now on ‘cost above all’ in order to achieve the best value for the taxpayer. Such a narrative will undoubtedly be welcomed by people across the UK who may support net zero, but are concerned that their energy prices are still on the rise. And when it comes to jobs, Shanks vowed to protect a UK industry that is on course to double employment to 860,000 by 2030 according to government figures and unlock a further £500 million in investment to grow the economy.
Political messaging reflects national realities
It is clear that half way through the electoral cycle, Labour’s rhetoric is changing, and rightfully so. People remain supportive of the UK’s pursuit of net zero; however, they need to see and hear what the benefits of this will be for them, their families and their household costs.
Bringing the argument closer to home, away from the globalised scales of climate change that are often difficult to conceptualise, is precisely the type of positive messaging that both developers and ministers alike should be using when engaging stakeholders and an increasingly sceptical public.
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