Rishi sunak’s popularity surges as he toughens net zero stance

Jack Maidment Politics Live Blog Editor 04 August 2023 3:52pm BST Rishi Sunak’s popularity among Tory members has surged after he took a tougher stance on net zero issues. The Prime

Minister’s support among the Conservative grassroots has grown after his party’s surprise victory in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election, which was widely viewed as a de facto

referendum on the London ultra-low emission zone expansion (Ulez). In the aftermath of the vote, Mr Sunak declared that he was on motorists’ side as he asked the Department for Transport to

carry out a review of low-traffic neighbourhoods across the country. On Monday, he announced the Government was granting hundreds of new licences for North Sea oil and gas exploration. Last

month, Mr Sunak’s popularity among the Tory grassroots sunk to its lowest level since he took over at No 10. He received a net satisfaction rating of -2.7 – the first time Mr Sunak had been

in negative territory since moving into Downing Street at the end of October last year. That score placed him eighth from bottom of the ConservativeHome website’s Cabinet League Table. He

was one of nine to receive a negative rating. But the premier has bounced back in the latest survey of party members, with a score of 20.7 putting him comfortably in the middle of the pack.

The shift on net zero and the by-election victory have been highlighted as potential factors in the turnaround. The Tories unexpectedly held on to Boris Johnson’s former seat at the contest

held on July 20. The result prompted senior Labour figures, including Sir Keir Starmer, to put pressure on Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, to rethink the policy. On Friday, Mr Khan

announced greater financial support designed to ease the pain caused by the levy. Affected motorists can now receive a grant of up to £2,000 towards buying a greener vehicle. The Prime

Minister has insisted he remains committed to hitting the Government’s target of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. But critics have questioned that commitment, arguing that giving the

green light to new fossil fuel exploration undermined the net zero drive. 0408 Poll A separate ConservativeHome survey of Tory members published earlier this week showed the political

importance of net zero for the Prime Minister. It revealed that an overwhelming majority – 83 per cent – believed the Government was wrong to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from

2030. Mr Sunak has insisted that the policy will go ahead as planned. Elsewhere in the Cabinet League Table, Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, continued his run as the most popular

minister among the Tory grassroots, recording a net satisfaction rating of 76.8. Therese Coffey, the Environment Secretary, was bottom of the league table with a score of -17.6.