Even those green Tories who have been pushing for the amendment have only given lukewarm support to Gove’s words. Sam Hall, the director of the forum Conservative Environment Network, said: “Although not a full normalisation as some have called for, these revised tests open the door to new onshore wind investment in England, which will reduce consumer bills, emissions and gas imports.”
Critics will point out that, although the government says it is prioritising growth, the fact is that it has taken years of campaigning to achieve a tweak to a document that will still discourage cheap, clean energy from being built.