Reform council leader vows to ‘lie in front of bulldozers’ to stop Ed Miliband’s net zero projects
The leader of the UK-led Reform council has vowed to “lay in front of the bulldozers” to stop Ed Miliband’s net zero projects in the region.
Several “nationally significant infrastructure projects” are planned for Lincolnshire, including a corridor of solar farms and lampposts between Grimsby and Walpole in Norfolk.
Reform UK has been vocal in its opposition to net zero plans backed by energy secretary Ed Miliband.
While local councils do not have the power to stop such projects, Lincolnshire County Council leader Sean Matthews has vowed to take tough action to stop these projects from progressing in the area.
“Ed Miliband is determined to destroy Lincolnshire with his energy developments… but I’ll put on my boots and lie down in front of his bulldozers,” he said. Telegram.
“I want a better environment for my grandchildren.”
He added: “I don’t know what Ed Miliband has against Lincolnshire but he seems determined to turn it from a beautiful rural county into an industrial wasteland of lampposts and power factories.
“Heartbreaking. Nearly a quarter of the UK’s infrastructure and energy projects are planned in Lincolnshire. It really strikes me that Ed Miliband is determined to destroy our county.”
Mr Matthews, a former member of the Met Police’s elite armed royal protection team, said his opposition to net zero was “genuine” but acknowledged it was a “vote winner”.
Earlier this year, Mr Matthews joined Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice at a press conference in Lincolnshire, where he said he was launching a “renewable energy war” against Mr Miliband.
He said: “We are basically waging a renewable energy war against Mr Miliband and his merry friends, the eco-bigots.”
Mr. Tice also wrote to energy companies, urging them not to invest in the latest green energy contracts.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said all projects were subject to strict planning processes and the views of local people should be taken into account.
Green groups also warned that Reform needed to start “thinking seriously” about how to tackle climate change in the UK and that there was “no escape” from the need to improve the UK’s energy system.
A recent poll found that more than half of Reform UK voters approve of having their pensions invested in green energy, despite the party launching a “renewable energy war”.
A poll by YouGov found that 79 per cent of voters, including 53 per cent of UK Reform supporters, were in favor of investing pensions in renewable energy.
The findings led to claims that politicians opposing investment in the sector had “grossly misjudged” the views of voters.
