A number of Wednesday’s papers lead with the news that Prime Minster Rishi Sunak is considering scaling back some of the government’s commitments intended to help the UK reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The Times says the changes will include scrapping plans to ban new gas boilers from 2035, and that the prime minister will argue the deadline would impose unnecessary costs on households.
A ban on new petrol and diesel cars will also be delayed from 2030 to 2035, according to the Daily Express. The paper says Mr Sunak will set out the plans in a “major speech” on Friday.
The Daily Mail welcomes the decision with the headline: “Finally! Common sense on net zero”. It says the prime minister will use the speech to recommit to hitting net zero – where the amount of emissions being emitted is the same as the amount taken out of the atmosphere – by 2050 but will argue it can be achieved through a more “pragmatic” approach.
Some Tory MPs have welcomed the plans, with one calling them “great news and a victory for common sense”, while other MPs are said to be considering writing letters of no confidence in the prime minister if they go ahead, The Daily Telegraph reports. The paper also says the changes will mark a “clear dividing line” between Labour and the Conservatives at the next election.
One senior Tory tells the Guardian that the change would be the “greatest mistake of [Mr Sunak’s] premiership” and could cost jobs and increase energy bills. The paper also quotes Emma Pinchbeck, chief executive of Energy UK, saying the plans are “not a great look for UK plc”.
The Daily Mirror leads with comments from Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, who said on Tuesday that she met children in one school affected by crumbling concrete and they “actually preferred [being taught in a portacabin] to the classroom”. The paper points out that it comes as the number of schools hit by the issue grows to 174.
The Daily Star is even less sympathetic. “The honest-to-God actual education secretary says kids love going to school in portacabins. Yes, really…” it says.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is to rule out any bid for the UK to join a revamped EU as an “associate member” if his party wins the next election, according to the i. The paper says the proposal – originally made by French President Emmanuel Macron – would give the UK and others the chance to join an outer tier, which would include single market membership, but that Sir Keir is set to reject the plan as a “non-starter”.
The Metro reports on the continuing fallout from sexual assault allegations published over the weekend against actor and presenter Russell Brand. It says YouTube have blocked his videos from making money, the BBC has joined Channel 4 in removing his content from streaming sites, and that he has had to close his own pub. Brand has strongly denied any wrongdoing.
Crispin Odey, founder of Odey Asset Management, urged a woman he had groped to play down the incident in evidence handed to the financial regulator, according to the Financial Times. The paper says that the woman said she was assaulted while working at the hedge fund in 2005, and that Odey later confessed to the incident but said that, at the time, he had just come back from undergoing a dental procedure and was under heavy medication. The woman told the firm’s lawyers about the incident during an internal inquiry in 2021, the findings of which were later shared with the Financial Conduct Authority.
And the Sun reports on its own Who Cares Wins awards show. The page carries a picture of comedian and presenter James Corden, who presented awards to emergency workers Dr Benjamin Marriage and Kevin Cuddon, who saved the life of mum Sarah de Lagarde after she was hit by two trains.
