There is a scene in the TV adaptation of that superb 1980s political novel, A Very British Coup, in which Labour prime minister Harry Perkins, determined to push through a new green energy policy, is rebuked by the leader of the United Power Workers’ Union, a character named Reg Smith.
“My union see job losses ahead,” argues the battle-hardened Smith, “and they won’t be bought off with promises of windmills”.
It was later revealed that Smith was something of a bad egg, but I am reminded of his slapdown every time I hear Labour leaders try to convince working people that the Net Zero crusade is in their interests.
You wouldn’t necessarily know it, but there are some in today’s trade union movement who have not succumbed to the militant environmentalism that has consumed much of the Left (and a good deal of the Right, too).
They don’t always get much of a hearing, but they exist and, with the Iran war folly threatening both an economic and energy crisis, they are coming out swinging.
Within the past week, the leaders of Unite and the GMB – two of Britain’s biggest unions, and each representing thousands of members in the energy sector – have called on the Government to permit fresh oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. Sharon Graham, the General Secretary of Unite, described the existing ban as an “act of self-harm” which was “putting jobs and energy security at risk”. Channelling Reg Smith, she said it was a “big mistake to let go of one rope before we have hold of another”.
Meanwhile, Graham’s counterpart at the GMB, Gary Smith, described the ban as “utter madness” and warned that high energy costs were throttling Britain’s productive industries.
Unite and the GMB are supported in their stance by an increasing number of Labour MPs, who can see that the Government’s dogmatic adherence to hardline green ideology is inflicting real misery on hard-pressed families and businesses.
The growing resistance is both sensible and refreshing. Don’t get me wrong: like most people, I want to see a greener planet.
And I recognise that the environmental movement – once derided as a band of cranks – deserves credit for forcing the issue of the sustainability of our world and its natural resources into the mainstream.
But it is perfectly possible to believe in protecting the Earth – for example, by accepting that climate change is real and needs addressing – while also holding that the measures designed to achieve this must be balanced and proportionate.
Labour Party's founders just backed North Sea drilling. The net zero dam is finally breaking - Paul Embery
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The transition away from fossil fuels unaccompanied by a robust plan for future energy security is already causing a world of pain for oil and gas workers, through widespread job losses, and the country at large, through higher bills.
The actions of the political class in sacrificing our nation’s energy independence during an era of global instability border on the criminal.
It is truly inexcusable that a country of Britain’s status should find itself in such a position. What’s more, our predicament wasn’t the result of mere incompetence; it was sabotage.
For years, politicians across the spectrum appeared more concerned with flaunting their green credentials on the world stage than with doing what was in the national interest.
I shall never forget the spectacle in 2021 of a Tory Cabinet minister, Alok Sharma, turning up to the site of a former coal-fired power station at Ferrybridge in Yorkshire and enthusiastically hitting the detonator button that triggered its demolition. The likes of Sharma saw such events as grand photo opportunities.
Well, now look where we are. We have no energy resilience to speak of. Coal power has gone; we are heavily reliant on gas and oil imports; renewables are unreliable; we are well behind on developing nuclear power and new technologies such as fracking and carbon capture; and our energy costs are now among the highest in the world.
It’s not even as if Britain’s Net Zero drive has made a significant impact on the health of the planet. In fact, our carbon emissions represent a tiny fraction of the global total.
And when vastly larger countries such as India and China are rushing to build new coal-fired power plants, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that our nation’s approach amounts to anything more than an exercise in political posturing.
Even Tony Blair has called for a rethink, arguing, rightly, that voters “feel they’re being asked to make financial sacrifices and changes in lifestyle when they know that their impact on global emissions is minimal”.
Thank goodness the consensus is slowly breaking down. And how encouraging that voices on the Left are now among the loudest in speaking up for common sense. It’s just a shame that it has taken a crazy military intervention in the Middle East for some of them to be raised.
For the sake of our future prosperity and security, the Government must pull back from its Net Zero zealotry. It’s high time Britain re-energised.