Former Tory minister considering backing Labour over climate concerns

Zac Goldsmith quit as environment minister in June with a scathing attack on Rishi Sunak.

Lord Zac Goldsmith floated the possibility that he could back Labour (Stefan Rousseau/PA) (PA Archive)

Tory peer Zac Goldsmith has said he could be tempted to back Labour as he stressed the need for more ambition to tackle climate change.

The Conservative politician quit as environment minister in June with a scathing attack on Rishi Sunak’s environmental “apathy”.

In the latest sign of frustration with his own party, the peer floated the possibility of switching his support to Sir Keir Starmer’s party.

He told the BBC’s HardTalk programme: “My concern about the Labour Party at the moment – and I don’t say this as a tribal politician because I am not a tribal politician – is, I think, there is a blind spot on the natural environment.

The simple truth is that there is no pathway to net zero, there is no solution to climate change, that does not involve nature

Zac Goldsmith

“When the Labour Party thinks environment, when it talks about the environment, it is thinking carbon, taxation and regulation, and all the things that go with that.

“The simple truth is that there is no pathway to net zero, there is no solution to climate change, that does not involve nature.

“At the moment, I’m not hearing any of that from the Labour Party.

“If I do, if there’s a real commitment now, the kind of commitment, frankly, that we saw when Boris Johnson was the leader, then I’d be very tempted to throw my weight behind that party and support them in any way I could.”

The comments by the former minister come as the Prime Minister continues to face questions over his commitment to tackling climate change after he announced plans to grant more than 100 new licences for oil and gas extraction in the North Sea.

Tory success in the recent Uxbridge by-election, which saw local campaigners tap into anger over the expansion of the ultra low emission zone (Ulez), has led some MPs to call on Mr Sunak to review other green policies.

In the same interview, to be broadcast by the BBC this week, Lord Goldsmith was critical of the Conservatives for not having a “clear answer” to climate change.

He said he was “desperately hoping the Conservative Party comes to its senses”.