RISHI Sunak won’t raise taxes again to pay for net zero in a bid to calm raging Tories, his deputy says. Simon Clarke came out swinging against swathes of MPs who want to dump the PM’s green plans amid huge fears about spiralling costs. And he hinted he wanted to see tax breaks in future to help […]
RISHI Sunak won’t raise taxes again to pay for net zero in a bid to calm raging Tories, his deputy says.
Simon Clarke came out swinging against swathes of MPs who want to dump the PM’s green plans amid huge fears about spiralling costs.
And he hinted he wanted to see tax breaks in future to help Brits become more eco-friendly.
It came after senior backbencher Steve Baker renewed his attacks on the PM’s green agenda – saying the current policies are not “rational”.
But the Chief Secretary to the Treasury argued that going green can help the economy, drive down costs and create jobs, slapping down claims from sections of the party who think our ambitions should be reigned in.
He told a Green Alliance event of cross party MPs that there was “no benefit in going backwards now” and he wanted to see a “carrot and stick” approach which leads people in the right direction.
And he even that slashing taxes to help people go greener could be on the cards – saying the Treasury would “look at how you apportion our taxes so they deliver against our objectives” and “make sure behaviour is incentivised”.
It could mean that some taxes swap around to help the nation go greener – but that he didn’t want to see more costs whacked on the nation.
Mr Clarke said: “We are in a very high tax environment – we need to make sure we are not doing things which lead to the UK losing competitiveness, and easing the squeeze on households and finances at a challenging time.
“We are in a very high-tax environment… We don’t want to increase the overall tax burden.
“The Treasury is always looking at what we can do to keep our taxation and policy in line – there are interesting ideas in this space.”
And he warned: “We don’t want to be seen as a hairshirt movement.
“All of us have a role to play in showing that there is no benefit, either environmentally or economically, to going backwards.”
He urged MPs to make the argument for going green in a “calm and measured way” which shows it can help boost the economy and save the planet at the same time.
The top Tory added: “we have to avoid the sense that all we are doing is increasing the costs and challenges.
“It should be seen as an enabling shift which will generate huge benefits in terms of jobs, energy security, and retributing growth.”
Mr Baker called for a fresh strategy to help the UK cut dirty greenhouse gases and save the planet – saying our current policies aren’t “rational” and are costing too much.
He wrote in ConservativeHome: “We need to reduce emissions but be realistic about what can be engineered at a reasonable cost to the British people.
“We need to think a little less about the targets, and much more about what people can afford.”
