RISHI Sunak is set to surrender to Tory wind-farm rebels – despite vowing to make it harder to build them in his leadership campaign.
Business Secretary Grant Shapps hinted the PM may climb down and allow the ban on onshore wind to be dropped.
Rishi Sunak is set to surrender to Tory wind-farm rebels
Sunak insisted that there was no internal rebellion and everyone was ‘on the same page’
Last night he insisted there was no internal rebellion and everyone was “on the same page” that there would be more wind needed in future.
But Mr Sunak had promised to keep the ban in the summer leadership campaign in August, saying: “as Prime Minister I would scrap plans to relax the ban on onshore wind in England”.
Mr Shapps said that the PM had told him just weeks ago he supported building more windfarms.
He went on: “There is definitely a contribution to be made by onshore wind.
In fact, we reaffirmed that in some of the green policies that were published under Boris Johnson and others in recent times.
“So, we all believe the same thing.” But they should not be shoved up “willy nilly” without the backing of locals, he insisted.
No10 said yesterday that the Government considers amendments to Bills “as they’re put forward” and that Mr Sunak is seeking “views from both sides” of the issue.
Rebels think they are nearing 35 MPs on their bid to relax the ban – which would effectively overturn the Government’s majority on the issue.
It comes as ministers will today finally announce the new nuclear reactor, Sizewell C, will be built in Suffolk in a bid to boost our long-term energy security.
A deal means six million homes are expected to be powered by the plant within a decade – with £700m of government funding included.
