Labour Warns Nigel Farage’s ‘War on Clean Energy’ Could Put Nearly One Million Jobs at Risk

The political battle over Britain’s green energy future is heating up, and fast. Reform UK’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, has urged energy firms to steer clear of the government’s latest round of green energy contracts, known as Allocation Round 7 (AR7). In a move that’s sparked sharp backlash, Tice’s message to investors was clear: walk away from net zero.

Mr Tice said he had put the companies on “formal notice” that their investments were “politically and commercially unsafe” as a future Reform government would seek to “strike down all contracts signed under AR7”.

Michael Shanks said Reform’s opposition to net zero amounted to a “war on jobs”, saying working people “would lose jobs and opportunities if Farage’s party was ever allowed to impose its anti-jobs, anti-growth ideology on the country”.

Mr Shanks called the letter an “energy surrender plan that would leave bills high for families and businesses, keeping the UK stuck on the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets”.

But that call to retreat hasn’t gone unanswered. Labour has launched a scathing counterattack, warning that Reform’s hardline stance could jeopardise nearly one million jobs tied to the UK’s growing green economy. According to estimates from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the net-zero sector currently supports around 951,000 jobs nationwide. That includes roughly 138,000 roles in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber, both key battlegrounds where Reform has recently seen gains, including in the Greater Lincolnshire mayoral contest and Tice’s constituency of Boston and Skegness.

Mr Tice said: “Labour’s reckless net zero fantasies are destroying hundreds of thousands of industrial jobs, costing taxpayers £12 billion a year in renewable subsidies, and leaving us with some of the highest energy bills in the world.

“The OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) confirms that £30 billion of taxpayer money is being poured into net-zero projects. These policies are crippling our economy and driving people out of this country.”

Labour’s energy minister, Alan Shanks, didn’t mince words. “This reckless approach is a direct threat to British jobs, British industry, and Britain’s climate commitments,” he said, describing Reform’s strategy as a political stunt with severe economic consequences.

Adding to the urgency, a recent report from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimated the annual cost of addressing climate change at £30 billion, primarily due to the loss of revenue from taxes such as fuel duty. But the watchdog made it clear: the price of inaction would be even steeper. Climate damage, rising disaster recovery costs, and long-term economic disruption would pose a far greater fiscal burden in the future.

However, it also warned that failing to act would present a “more significant fiscal cost” due to the damage caused by climate change.

Reform UK, meanwhile, has doubled down on its anti-net-zero rhetoric. Earlier this year, Tice declared he would "wage war" on the policy altogether. His ally, Greater Lincolnshire mayor Dame Andrea Jenkyns, went even further, telling Times Radio she doesn’t believe climate change is real. That kind of climate denial, Labour believes, could become Reform’s Achilles’ heel.

Polling suggests that despite heated political rhetoric, net zero still commands broad public support. A survey commissioned by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit ahead of the May local elections found that 54% of Reform voters themselves supported “policies to stop climate change.”

With Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer increasingly positioning Reform as Labour’s actual opponent, particularly in key working-class regions, the net-zero debate is no longer just about energy. It’s about jobs, trust, and the kind of future Britain is willing to fight for.