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No10 may ditch wind farm ban as Labour MPS back Tory rebels

Downing Street ‘to review all amendments’ to Sunak’s flagship reform as ministers face a humiliating defeat

By Daniel Martin DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR

DOWNING Street opened the door to a about-turn on onshore wind farms yesterday after Labour said that it would support Tory rebels who want to end a ban on them.

On Thursday, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss both signed a back-bench amendment to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill, one of the Prime Minister’s flagship reforms.

The amendment has already been signed by more than 30 MPS and looks set to attract more when Parliament returns on Monday.

Yesterday, Labour said it would back the amendment, putting the Government on course for a humiliating defeat.

Asked about the threatened rebellion, a Downing Street spokesman said the amendment would be looked at.

“We will consider all amendments and set out our position in the usual way,” she said.

“The PM has been clear throughout that we want to support more renewables, for them to come online and the focus remains on building more wind turbines offshore in order to boost our energy security.”

Any return to onshore wind would overturn a ban imposed by David Cameron in 2015.

Mr Johnson and Ms Truss’s bombshell interventions came days after Mr Sunak’s government was forced to change tack following a separate Tory revolt on the same legislation.

On Tuesday night, more than 50 Conservative MPS rebelled against the section of the levelling-up Bill that imposes centrally dictated house building targets to ensure 300,000 homes are built each year.

That revolt risked the prospect of Mr Sunak only being able to get the measure through with Labour support.

In response, he decided to delay the votes until December in a bid to reach a compromise with his backbenchers.

The latest rebellion looks set to be even more serious, because Labour’s support for it means it is far more likely to result in a government defeat.

A Labour source said that they would support the amendment but indicated that they are concerned it does not go far enough in levelling the playing field between onshore wind and other infrastructure.

The amendment was laid by Simon Clarke, who was levelling-up secretary under Ms Truss.

It demands that Michael Gove, the present Levelling-up Secretary, revise the National Planning Policy Framework

‘The focus remains on building more wind turbines offshore to boost our energy security’

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”.

Mr Clarke said: “Onshore wind is the cheapest form of energy generation open to us and is right for both our energy security and the environment.

“My amendment means it would only be possible for this to proceed where there is express community [consent]”

Mr Johnson signed the pro-onshore wind amendment, though he supported the ban, which has been in place since 2015, during his three years in office.

Ms Truss said that she wanted to end the ban when she was prime minister because she believes that the energy crisis means Britain needs more energy independence.

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2022-11-26T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-11-26T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://dailytelegraph.pressreader.com/article/281595244542456

Daily Telegraph