Tory Leadership Candidates Warned Treating Net Zero Like A "Burden" Is An "Electoral Mistake"

Framing net zero as a “burden” was an “electoral mistake” for the Tories, according to the director of the Conservative Environment Network, who has urged the party to be more positive about the green agenda.

Speaking to PoliticsHome, Sam Hall said the way in which the Conservatives shifted their tone on green policies ahead of the 4 July General Election prevented the party from getting as much "credit" for its record on the environment as it should have, and meant some swing voters backed Labour or the Liberal Democrats instead.

“It was a missed opportunity around the swing voters to Labour and the Lib Dems, who did attach quite a lot to the environment, and could have been brought back to the party potentially, with a with a stronger green message,” said Hall.

Hall, who was an adviser to former Tory Cabinet minister Michael Gove when he was at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, hopes the six Conservative MPs vying to be the next party leader will take a positive approach to environmental issues.

He hopes there will be “a bit of positivity and pride in the Conservative record on the environment and try and lay claim to that tradition that goes on climate change all the way back to Margaret Thatcher," he told PoliticsHome.

Last year, while prime minister, current Tory leader Rishi Sunak announced a significant overhaul of the government’s net zero policy, including delaying the ban on new petrol cars and pulling requirements for landlords to make energy efficiency savings to homes. 

At the time, Sunak argued the changes took a more common sense approach to addressing climate change, and in a way which reduced costs for ordinary people.

However, it was also seen as an attempt to create a dividing line with