Former Conservative net zero Tsar and Energy Minister Chris Skidmore has vowed to vote Labour after claiming current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has turned net zero into a culture war in the “greatest tragedy of his premiership”.
Writing in the Guardian newspaper, Skidmore launched a scathing attack on the PM and took aim at “extremist rhetoric that frames net zero policies as an imposition. This false narrative is the product of both ignorance and deliberate misinformation”.
He added: “I have decided that the Labour party is best placed to achieve economic growth and the green industrial revolution. Net zero is one of its five key priorities, and for this reason I will be voting Labour at this election.”
Former Conservative MP Skidmore resigned as an MP in January over the proposed introduction of the government’s Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill and has now become the most senior figure to break rank and support Labour following a handful of backbench defections to the opposition party.