‘Act on the evidence outside the window’: Andy Burnham urged to stick to net zero targets if he becomes PM

A person tries to cool off with fresh water from a water fountain by the beach in Hove, England. Photograph: Carlos Jasso/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen A person tries to cool off with fresh water from a water fountain by the beach in Hove, England. Photograph: Carlos Jasso/AFP/Getty Images Analysis ‘Act on the evidence outside the window’: Andy Burnham urged to stick to net zero targets if he becomes PM Fiona Harvey Environment editor Mayor of Manchester is coming under pressure from some to ditch net zero targets but this could be highly damaging on many levels UK politics live – latest updates Britain’s net zero economy is booming. The sector is worth £100bn a year to the UK , has outpaced other sectors , and supports higher-paying jobs than the average. For a union leader to suggest that the man who has overseen this impressive record – the energy secretary, Ed Miliband – would be a “noose around the neck” of job creation , as Unite’s Sharon Graham has done, might seem extraordinary. But the debate on net zero is often suffused with more wasted heat and less useful light than an old-style incandescent bulb. Andy Burnham, the prospective next prime minister, is coming under pressure to join the ranks of the sceptics , and reverse Labour’s longstanding championing of the move to renewable energy and low-carbon industry. There are many reasons why he should resist . “Net zero is one of the few glues that unites Labour’s coalition,” says Luke Tryl, the executive director of More in Common, the non-profit research agency. “There is limited electoral benefit to ditching it and much potential harm.” View image in fullscreen Andy Burnham. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA More than 60% of people support net zero and climate action, numerous polls suggest. Although it is eclipsed by the cost of living as a priority for voters, the appeal crosses political divides – about a third of Reform voters support the target, despite the onslaught against it from Nigel Farage and Richard Tice. At the other end of the spectrum, Labour haemorrhaged votes to the strongly pro-climate Green party and Liberal Democrats at the local elections. YouGov polling showed that for every 2024 Labour voter who switched to Reform, about six voted instead for the Liberal Democrats or the Green party. In many cases, it was the switch by Labour voters to the left that gave Reform the leg-up to win seats, rather than Labour voters moving right. These outcomes suggest Labour has little to gain electorally from weakening on net zero, and a lot to lose. But Joe Dromey, the general secretary of the Fabian Society, says that message does not seem to have got through to all sections of the party. “Quite a few people have been learning the wrong lessons from the very painful defeats in the local elections,” he says. “While Labour lost seats to Reform, they lost votes to the other progressive parties. But those voters are much more likely to consider voting Labour again in the future –