Johnson and Truss in planning rebellion
Former PMS challenge Sunak’s authority by demanding end to onshore wind farms ban
BORIS JOHNSON and Liz Truss last night launched a challenge to Rishi Sunak’s authority by joining a Tory rebellion backing wind farms to tackle the energy crisis.
In their first major interventions since leaving Downing Street, the two former prime ministers have demanded an end to the ban on new onshore wind farms.
They signed an amendment to the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, just days after the Government was derailed by a separate Tory revolt on the same legislation. The Bill is designed to speed up house building, which is crucial to Mr Sunak’s growth agenda.
The two former prime ministers have had tense relationships with Mr Sunak. Mr Johnson’s supporters view him as having dealt the fatal blow to his premiership by resigning as chancellor, while Ms Truss and Mr Sunak clashed repeatedly during the leadership race.
Mr Johnson signed the pro-onshore wind amendment, tabled by Simon Clarke, who was levelling-up secretary under Ms Truss, even though he supported the ban during his three years in office.
Ms Truss said she wanted to end the ban when she was in No 10, because she believed the energy crisis meant Britain needed more energy independence. The 2019 Conservative manifesto mentions boosting offshore, but not onshore, wind power.
Mr Clarke said last night: “I’m very grateful to all the colleagues from right across the Conservative Party who have put their names to this amendment, and especially Boris and Liz.
“My amendment means it would only be possible for this to proceed where there is express community consent, with no right of appeal for developers if a council says no. We should seize the moment – not least because a future Labour government wouldn’t include equivalent community consent protection were they to scrap the current ban, as they undoubtedly would.”
Onshore wind is a touchstone issue for the Tories. Complaints from residents in areas where they were constructed, often rural Conservative constituencies, have led the party leadership to take a critical stance.
In 2014, David Cameron said that the public were “fed up” of the turbines and promised not to subsidise them if the Conservatives won the upcoming general election.
News of the rebellion comes as a new book claimed that Mr Johnson almost served in Ms Truss’s Cabinet as foreign secretary.
She briefly considered installing her predecessor in his old role to deal with the war in Ukraine, but the idea was dropped, with both sides believing it would be too complicated.
The Daily Telegraph can also reveal that Ms Truss is planning to stand at the next election to continue her career as a Conservative MP, according to former aides.
The onshore wind revolt is the second blow to Mr Sunak’s Bill after more than 50 Conservative MPS rebelled on Tuesday night against his plans to impose centrally dictated house building targets – forcing him to delay the votes until December. That revolt risked the prospect of Mr Sunak only being able to get the measure through with Labour support.
The latest rebellion looks to be even more serious, not only because it has attracted the support of two former prime ministers, but because it is considered more likely that Labour would back measures to promote onshore wind.
Last night, a total of 18 Conservative MPS had signed the amendment. It demands that Michael Gove, the Levelling-up Secretary, revise the national planning policy framework to allow councils to grant new onshore wind applications.
The amendment would also force the Town and Country Planning Act to be amended to allow the installation of “new onshore wind sites not previously used for generating wind energy or for repowering existing onshore wind applications”.
It comes as The Fall of Boris Johnson, a book by journalist Sebastian Payne, has claimed that Ms Truss offered
him the post of foreign secretary. Ms Truss met Mr Johnson twice during this summer’s leadership contest, the book reveals. The pair also spoke on the telephone in the last week of July – when Mr Johnson was still prime minister, where they in effect discussed a job swap should she win the contest.
Ms Truss and Mr Johnson also had breakfast in Mr Johnson’s Downing Street flat on 29 July, several weeks after he resigned. Her allies said he gave her plenty of “good advice”, which was followed up by a later visit to Chequers. The book reveals that such invitations were not extended to Mr Sunak.
Despite their discussions about a job offer, earlier this week Mr Johnson compared Ms Truss’s mini-budget to a badly played piano.
Tory MPS have been urged to decide before Dec 5 whether they plan to compete for their seat again at the next general election, expected in 2024, or step aside. Chloe Smith, the former work and pensions secretary, and William Wragg, the vice chairman of the 1922 Committee, both announced this week they would not run at the next election.
There has been speculation that as many as 80 of the current crop of almost 360 Tory MPS could choose not to seek re-election.