Ed Davey to urge energy sector to ‘take on the lies of Farage and Badenoch’

Sir Ed Davey is to call on the energy sector “to take on the lies” put forward by Reform UK and the Conservative Party, who claim that clean power policies will cost UK billpayers more money.

In a speech to the Energy UK conference in London on Tuesday, the Liberal Democrat leader will address industry figures about the “shattered” political consensus over climate action.

Sir Ed is expected to criticise Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, who have both pledged to row back on climate policies and support North Sea oil and gas in a move they say will bring down bills.

“We have long said that climate sceptics have their heads buried in the sand,” he will say.

“But if the energy industry and all those who are concerned about bringing bills down don’t take on the lies of Farage and Badenoch now, it will be us who have our heads in the sand.

“We either take on the myths or we fail families for at least a decade.”

Sir Ed will argue that his party will halve energy bills by 2035 by investing in renewable power, launching a 10-year home emergency upgrade programme, and moving older renewable projects off expensive Renewable Obligation Certificates and onto cheaper Contracts for Difference.

In contrast, he will say that Mr Farage’s vision for the future of energy “is inspired by what his idol Donald Trump is doing in America” and would “put up bills, destroy jobs and hurt the economy, while climate change rages on”.

Sir Ed will also address Mrs Badenoch’s recent announcement that the Tories would repeal the Climate Change Act.

He is expected to praise former Conservative prime minister Theresa May, who said this “would be a catastrophic mistake”, as well as former Conservative business secretary Alok Sharma, who said it “risks future investment and jobs into our country, as well as our international standing”.

“Typically for them, Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch claim to have a nice easy solution. Rip up our commitments on climate change, they say, and bills will magically come down,” he is set to say.

“The story they tell sounds simple enough. They pretend that bills are high because we’re investing too much in renewable power. And they pretend that if we stop investing, bills will fall. When we know the reverse is true.

“Ignoring Farage hasn’t stopped his lies from spreading. It hasn’t stopped the Conservative Party turning its back on climate action – just a few years after Theresa May legislated for the 2050 target.”

For those who argue how important renewable energy is for the UK economy, Sir Ed will say: “We have to be honest with ourselves: we haven’t done a good enough job at countering their myths.”