Through gritted teeth, humiliated Ed Miliband finally backs a third runway for Heathrow as he backtracks on net-zero pledges and says he does ‘support what the Government is doing’

Ed Miliband was humiliated yesterday after being forced to back Heathrow expansion and continue to drill for oil and gas.

The Climate Secretary was forced to eat humble pie as he backtracked on his net-zero pledges, saying he does ‘support what the Government is doing’ on Heathrow.

In 2018, Mr Miliband voted in the Commons against a third runway at Britain’s biggest airport and threatened to resign over the issue in 2009.

But his U-turn comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who is desperate to generate economic growth following her disastrous Budget, bounced No10 into adopting a third runway as Government policy.

During a bruising round of interviews yesterday, he also suggested that he would back the Government if it approves the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields development, saying: ‘No one’s talking about turning off the taps.

‘Look, we’ve said we will keep existing fields open in the North Sea for their lifetime.’ He previously called the Rosebank oil project ‘climate vandalism’.

The Climate Secretary was forced to eat humble pie as he backtracked on his net-zero pledges, saying he does ‘support what the Government is doing’ on Heathrow

His U-turn comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves , who is desperate to generate economic growth following her disastrous Budget , bounced No10 into adopting a third runway as Government policy

Ms Reeves used a major speech last Wednesday to put Heathrow expansion at the centre of her new economic growth plan. Pictured, artist’s impression of the development 

Sir Keir Starmer has signalled he will back the developments despite a Scottish court ruling last month that consent for drilling under the previous Tory government was granted unlawfully.

The Court of Session in Edinburgh said a more detailed assessment of the fields’ environmental impact was required, which will need to be submitted to ministers before they decide whether to re-grant permission.

Mr Miliband is under growing pressure as household bills continue to rise despite his pledge to save households £300 with his switch to ‘greener’ renewable energy. Speaking to LBC, he insisted he was right to make the bills pledge by building more onshore wind and solar farms.

Asked by host Nick Ferrari about rising bills, he said: ‘I was correct. We said that by 2030 there’d be up to £300 off bills… There is only one answer to this Nick, which is clean homegrown power that we control [the price of].’ But he couldn’t say when or by how much they would come down. It comes after green tycoon and Labour backer Dale Vince also demanded to know how much bills would be cut by, urging Labour to ‘give us the numbers’.

Asked if he now backed the Heathrow expansion, Mr Miliband told Sky News: ‘Obviously, I abide by collective [Cabinet] responsibility and what the Government has done, I do support what the Government is doing which is that we have asked Heathrow to come forward with their plans.’

But he said the airport’s plans must meet ‘strict environmental standards’, adding: ‘It is really important to say to you that these have got to meet strict carbon budgets and local environmental standards, and then an assessment will be made about whether a third runway can do that.’

 Asked if he now backed the Heathrow expansion, Mr Miliband told Sky News: ‘Obviously, I abide by collective [Cabinet] responsibility’

In 2018, Mr Miliband voted in the Commons against a third runway at Britain’s biggest airport and threatened to resign over the issue in 2009

Andrew Bowie, the Tories’ energy spokesman, blasted: ‘Ed Miliband’s energy policy is all over the place. Instead of making energy cheaper in this country and boosting growth, he has spent his time destroying our North Sea oil and gas industry, making us reliant on solar panels from China, and trying to pretend he still isn’t in total opposition to a third runway at Heathrow – and now his own government is forcing him to eat humble pie in a desperate attempt to regain some form of economic credibility.

‘And among all of this there is still no sign of the £300 off energy Labour promised.’

It comes following the Government’s announcement that it is slashing planning laws to make it easier to build mini nuclear power stations.

The Mail also reported yesterday how Miatta Fahnbulleh – the minister for energy consumers –has been told by Mr Miliband that she needs to prioritise cutting bills.

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