Reform “war on net zero” is putting as much as £44bn in private sector investment and 20,000 jobs at risk in the Humber region, insiders have told The i Paper.
The area, which takes in the crucial ports of Hull, Grimsby and Immingham, is the largest industrial cluster by economic activity and emissions in Britain.
It is home to steel and chemicals production, fuel refining, and food, lime, and glass manufacturing.
Industry leaders say “urgent” action is required to prevent closures due to high energy costs and emissions targets.
However, the Humber Energy Board (HEB), which represents the region’s energy industry, believes decarbonisation plans can save the factories, as well as bringing more than 20,000 new jobs’
According to research shared with The i Paper, the HEB estimates that between £22bn and £44bn of private investment is ready to be unlocked through green industries such as solar, hydrogen, carbon capture storage (CCS) and offshore wind over the next 20 years.
Reform’s leaders, however, are taking an increasingly hostile position to net zero – the UK’s commitment to ensure the amount of greenhouse gases it emits is balanced by the amount it removes from the atmosphere by 2050.
Business and energy spokesperson Richard Tice has said the UK must “get rid of, in its entirety, net ‘stupid’ zero”, and has pledged to cut contracts and subsidies for clean energy under a Reform government.
At a local level, Reform now has control of the two new combined authorities in the Humber region – Luke Campbell is Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire and Dame Andrea Jenkyns is Mayor in Greater Lincolnshire.
Both leaders have struggled to reconcile Reform’s national policy on net zero with their desire to show support for local jobs. Campbell has previously labelled net zero “disastrous”, but when grilled recently by Channel 4 News he described “clean energy” as “great”.
“I don’t like the fact that net zero is more or less bankrupting our economy,” he said. “It’s bankrupting us, it’s killing businesses, is costing everyone an absolute fortune.”
But when asked how he tallied that with the net-zero economy being worth £8bn to the region, he said: “Let’s be a little bit more diverse with our energy, let’s not just stop doing energy here and just focus on this and let’s do a little bit of everything.”
Nigel Farage and Greater Lincolnshire mayor Dame Andrea Jenkyns in Scunthorpe (Photo: Peter Byrne/PA)
In Greater Lincolnshire, Jenkyns has made clear she does not support the idea of “clean energy” at all, despite the fact that decarbonisation is a key part of the Humber’s new economic growth plan.
Few business leaders in the Humber have spoken out publicly about the confused message surrounding net zero. But insiders have told The i Paper that a lack of confidence – both in Reform and national government – is now beginning to hold back investment.
“If you speak to businesses they say, ‘Yes we’re going to lose this investment,'” said one source close to business leaders in Hull. “They are worried the investment will go to the North East or elsewhere in the country or abroad.”
Another source close to the business community said industry leaders have “made clear they need private investment as well as central government backing to decarbonise the regional economy otherwise well-paid jobs at places like oil refinieres and local steelworks are at risk.”
They argued the attitude of Reform’s mayors is “turning away jobs”.
Farage poses with Luke Campbell in the Boxclub Boxing Centre in Hull (Photo: Ryan Jenkinson/Getty)
Councillors have also warned that dissatisfaction with their performance could potentially lead local authority leaders to trigger a clause in the devolution deals that allow the mayoralties to be scrapped in 2028 with approval from central government.
That could mean the Greater Lincolnshire and Hull and East Yorkshire authorities being axed in favour of a mayor for the Humber region.
Councillor Rob Waltham, the Conservative leader of Tory-controlled North Lincolnshire Council, confirmed such a clause exists and could be triggered. He accused Jenkyns of allowing “ideology” to lead the debate over economic choices in the Humber rather than “pragmatism”.
“If you start changing, businesses will retreat from the investment and creating jobs,” he told The i Paper. “It’s a matter of trust – politics and business need to trust each other.”
Professor Jim Gilbert, an expert in renewable energy at the University of Hull, has been monitoring the industry in the Humber for the past 30 years. He said progress had been made and he believed at least £15bn of investment was already possible over the next 10 years.
But Reform’s criticism of net zero was “not helpful” and was becoming a “distraction”, he added. “These companies have interests all over the world, they’re looking for where they get the best return, they want certainty,” he said. We’re in a race with other countries in Europe, we’re not doing it in isolation.
“There’s frustration with dealing with populist politics – I think there’s also frustration with the pace of government decision-making”
Solar power, which has proved unpopular in some Lincolnshire communities, is an industry which has come in for particular criticism from Jenkyns. Along with Tice, the pair have promised to “declare war” on large-scale solar farms.
Reform has declared war on large solar farms (Photo: Getty)
Dan Meredith, director of external affairs for Solar Energy UK, warned: “Britain has an extraordinary opportunity to attract investment in places like the Humber – but investment will follow confidence.
“In the Humber in particular, there’s probably not a place in the country that is better positioned to take the benefits of the clean power transition. Great ports, great expertise in manufacturing, logistics, engineering, it is uniquely placed in this country to benefit from what’s going on. And it would be a shame to lose that.”
In an interview with The i Paper, Jenkyns admitted that businesses in the Humber may have experienced some initial confusion about her policy on clean energy.
“At the beginning, they probably did think that, but I’ve been working really closely to build a relationship because ultimately I want to see growth in our region,” she said.
Jenkyns said she believed the “net-zero narrative” was being rolled back by governments around Europe and that the focus was now on “energy security” instead.
She insisted that she worked well with local firms, such as wind turbine manufacturer Siemens, adding: “I’m working quite well with the business community. But don’t forget I was democratically elected with a 50,000 majority. I had it in my leaflets that I’m pro-fracking. I had it that we’ve got to stop jumping on the net-zero bandwagon.
“We actually need to have a more sensible energy policy rather than putting out all our eggs in one basket. And so I got elected on that. So doesn’t democracy count for anything?”
A Humber Energy Board spokesperson said it has a “productive relationship with Reform UK in the region, as we do with all political parties.”
