Michael Gove: Tories should be the party of the environment

Writing for The Telegraph, Lord Gove, a former environment secretary, said the Conservatives were not only “natural allies” but also “the strongest champions” of environmentalists.

He said the true Conservative approach balanced the demands of economic growth with enhancing the environment, as he criticised both strategies from the Left and Right.

His article, a foreword to a collection of essays published by the Conservative Environment Network, was written before Kemi Badenoch announced the party would remove all net zero requirements on oil and gas companies drilling in the North Sea if elected.

Sources noted that Conservative environmentalists recognised the economic importance of oil and gas, so that the UK was not entirely reliant on renewables, but balanced it with a commitment to protecting nature.

Lord Gove told The Telegraph that Mrs Badenoch was “absolutely right”.

He said: “The conversation about the environment has been skewed by a focus on particular aspects of how to deal with climate change that obscure the broader debate about protecting nature.”

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