A Cabinet minister has hinted that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak could back down amid a growing Tory rebellion trying to force him to drop a ban on new onshore wind farms.
Business Secretary Grant Shapps denied the challenge constitutes a “row” or that there is a “massive gulf” between the rebels’ position and that of the Government.
Former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss are among some 30 Conservatives backing former levelling-up secretary Simon Clarke’s pro-wind amendment to the Levelling Up Bill.
Playing down the significance of the revolt, Mr Shapps told Times Radio: “It’s the most extraordinarily overwritten story I’ve read.
“The fact that a backbencher has an amendment in is literally something that happens every single day in Parliament.
“And his amendment, which is saying something like local people should have final say, is actually exactly what Rishi said when he last spoke on it, and indeed what I’ve said on it in the past.”
He added: “It just strikes me it’s not really a row.
“We’re all basically saying the same thing. You need local consent if you’re going to have wind power onshore, because it can be quite a big imposition on the local environment.”
Mr Shapps also told Sky News that “to present it as some sort of massive gulf is completely untrue”.
As a former Secretary of State @beisgovuk and COP President, @AlokSharma_RDG has huge authority on why we should end the ban on onshore wind. You can read his thoughts in full here: https://t.co/S03CD4cYGB
— Simon Clarke MP (@SimonClarkeMP) November 26, 2022
The amendment to the Levelling Up Bill would allow wind farms in rural areas where there is community consent.
Although Mr Shapps suggested this is also the Prime Minister’s policy, Mr Sunak in fact vowed to maintain the moratorium on new onshore wind during his unsuccessful Tory leadership bid in the summer.
The Business Secretary’s remarks signal a possible climbdown to avoid a damaging defeat by Tory rebels, made more likely by Labour’s backing for the amendment.
Former Conservative Party chairman Sir Jake Berry and Alok Sharma, who was president of the Cop26 climate summit, are some of the latest senior MPs to add their names to the legislation.
Mr Sunak is also facing a split in opinion from within his own Cabinet, with Levelling-Up Secretary Michael Gove understood to be backing an end to the moratorium.
Mr Johnson did not seek to overturn the effective moratorium on new onshore wind projects, in place since 2015, during his time in Number 10.
Calls for the ending the ban on new onshore wind farms have grown amid efforts to secure the UK’s energy independence as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has squeezed supplies.
The Prime Minister is not only facing a challenge over onshore wind, but on building targets as well.
He was forced to pull a vote on the legislation that would set a target of building 300,000 homes per year when around 50 Tory MPs threatened to rebel.
