1st May 2026

Net Zero is taking us for a spin

The headlines

UK

• Miliband bans tumble dryers

• UK to include aviation and shipping emissions in carbon budgets

• Net Zero tax threatens the last of UK’s refineries

• Business leaders tell Starmer and Reeves to drill for more oil and gas

• Labour MPs call on Starmer to sack Miliband

International

• BYD’s profits collapse

• Trump administration to pay wind farms to cancel contracts

Watch

• Miliband bans tumble dryers

• There’s no such thing as “free” electricity

Etcetera

• Media, opinion

From the blog

• Reeves is recycling a failed electricity pricing wheeze

UK

Miliband bans tumble dryers

The sale of traditional tumble dryers is to be stamped out in a net-zero drive that will push consumers toward more expensive machines that take longer to dry clothes.

Elswhere, it has been reported the announcement has led to a run on new tumble dryers.

UK to include aviation and shipping emissions in carbon budgets

Emissions from aviation and shipping will be formally included in the UK’s carbon budgets from the Sixth Carbon Budget period, covering 2033 to 2037, under new legislation laid by the Government.

Net Zero tax threatens the last of Britain’s refineries

Britain’s last four fuel refineries are at risk of closure because of soaring net zero taxes, the Chancellor has been warned. MPs have urged Rachel Reeves to act quickly to overhaul Britain’s “unfair” carbon tax scheme, which forces refineries to pay up to £400m in levies each year unlike their foreign rivals.

Business leaders tell Starmer and Reeves to drill for more oil and gas

A group of business leaders, unions and policy experts say national assets must be better utilised to cut reliance on imports, generate revenue and support jobs.

Labour MPs call on Starmer to sack Miliband

Dozens of Labour MPs including ministers are now calling on Keir Starmer to sack 'bat-s**t crazy' Ed Miliband at the rumoured forthcoming Cabinet reshuffle, according to the Daily Mail.

International

BYD’s profits collapse

BYD’s profits have fallen by more than half as the company’s downturn in the cut-throat Chinese market outweighs improved demand for electric vehicles globally in the wake of the Iran war. The results highlight the recent drop in BYD’s China sales, particularly in January and February, following years of astronomical growth as government subsidies for EV purchases are phased out.

Trump administration to pay wind farms to cancel contracts

The Trump administration will pay energy companies hundreds of millions of dollars to abandon their plans to build two wind farms off the US coast. The firms will forfeit their leases in federal waters for the two wind farms, the government will reimburse a combined $885 million, and in exchange, the companies have pledged to invest that money in oil and gas projects, including liquefied natural gas facilities along the Gulf Coast.

Watch

WATCH OUR CAMPAIGN DIRECTOR DISCUSS ED MILIBAND’S TUMBLE DRYER BAN.

LISTEN TO DIETER HELM EXPLAIN HOW THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS “FREE” ELECTRICITY.

Etcetera…

Read: Ella Whelan argues that Ed Miliband must hate mothers with his ban on tumble dryers

Read: Leon Mangasarian in The Spectator on Net Zero and the myth of German efficiency

Read: Javier Blas argues that the UAE exit from OPEC is existential for the cartel.

From the blog

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