Under Labour’s so-called "visionary" Net-Zero plan, Keir Starmer and Ed Miliband are orchestrating a program that risks plunging Britain into economic and industrial ruin.

Labour’s roadmap to “Net Zero” by the 2030s isn’t just an environmental commitment – it’s a self-imposed sentence to deindustrialise and undermine Britain’s sovereignty, making us dangerously dependent on foreign energy and goods while doing little to actually reduce global carbon emissions.

Let’s be clear, Britain’s share of global carbon emissions is minuscule. We contribute around 1% of the world’s emissions. Yet, Labour seems determined to gut our industrial and energy sectors, sacrificing thousands of British jobs and entire industries in an attempt to reduce this fraction.

Miliband’s masterstroke here? Shutting down our domestic coal and gas-powered plants and leaning on wind and solar – a foolhardy move that leaves us with two stark options: suffer blackouts when renewables fall short or buy our energy from foreign sources.

It’s hard to see how a country as proud and resourceful as Britain has been led to the brink of energy reliance on others, all in the name of virtue-signalling at Islington dinner parties.

This “plan” offers us no actual path to energy security. Instead, Labour’s approach is clear: offshore the problem. Closing Tata Steel and other industries only serves to reduce Britain’s carbon footprint on paper. But this method does nothing to solve the problem on a global scale.

In fact, the emissions will just shift elsewhere as we import more goods from countries with looser environmental regulations. In other words, Labour’s policy is to shut down industries here, pat themselves on the back, and then buy steel, energy, and other essentials from overseas – likely from countries with far worse environmental track records.

Britain loses industry, jobs, and autonomy, while the global carbon problem remains firmly unsolved. Ed Miliband, Keir Starmer, and the rest of the Labour front bench are wholly detached from the real-world impacts of their policies. For them, the rise in energy prices that will result from this strategy is an abstract concept – an inconvenient statistic.

But for millions of British families and businesses, it’s a very real and punishing reality. Labour’s willingness to sacrifice Britain’s self-reliance all for political posturing and untested “green” theories reveals how little they understand – or care – about the lives affected by their policies.

By abandoning coal and gas in favour of intermittent renewables, Labour’s Net-Zero dream could make Britain more dependent on European energy markets. Who controls these markets? The European Union.

With every gas price hike, Labour hands Brussels greater control over our economic fate. Instead of being masters of our own energy future, Labour’s policies leave us beholden to price hikes, supply shocks, and geopolitical manoeuvring from our neighbours.

The hypocrisy is as staggering as it is predictable. Labour claims to be fighting for the working class, yet it’s the blue-collar communities, factory workers, and families already struggling with energy costs who will bear the brunt of this deindustrialisation.

Labour’s big talk on climate obscures the reality that their policies would increase global emissions through imports while leaving British industry in tatters.

This government’s “Net-Zero” strategy is nothing short of a betrayal of Britain’s working families, industries, and energy independence. Britain doesn’t need ideologically driven experiments masquerading as environmental policy – it needs a pragmatic approach that protects jobs, safeguards energy independence, and preserves our sovereignty.

Labour’s reckless deindustrialisation agenda fails on all fronts. It’s time for real leadership that prioritises Britain’s future, not a handful of Labour politicians’ fleeting “green” credentials. Ed Miliband’s “green dream” is a dark nightmare for the British people.

Richard Thomson was the Reform UK candidate for Braintree in the General Election of 2024