It was reported on 16 October that  County Durham leaders have promised to focus on essential council services amid challenging financial circumstances. Andrew Husband, leader of Reform UK-run Durham County Council made the comments at a cabinet meeting where members backed the party’s plan.

It was claimed that upgrading public transport infrastructure and tackling anti-social behaviour, improving shared housing planning controls, are among several priorities being pursued by leaders.

Cllr Husband said: “The council is responsible for a wide range of public services, but with an ongoing and challenging financial position, it is vital that we focus on the essentials – the things we can deliver and influence as a local authority, and ensure we deliver the best possible value for money in frontline services for the people of County Durham.”

One of the things missing from the report was anything that Reform might do about the environment in County Durham. This comes after the Reform-led council voted to scrap their Net Zero pledge in July. The deputy leader of the council, Reform’s Darren Grimes was reported as saying: “We are done with expensive virtue-signalling tripe, and care about our residents.”

Net Zero as a path to growth

However, it can argued that getting to Net Zero is not about ‘virtue-signalling’ but a vitally important act to help protect the future of humanity. The climate emergency is not a faraway future threat, but rather a problem in the here and now that needs to be urgently tackled. It is further argued that costs associated with extreme weather events are escalating, that long-term global financial stability is being put at risk and that it is just as much an economic imperative as an environmental priority. 

Carbon Literacy argues that “the path to net zero is not just an environmental necessity but a strategic economic imperative, and a bridge to cross divisions. Investing in clean energy, sustainable technologies, and resilient infrastructure can drive innovation, create jobs, and ensure long-term prosperity. The transition to a low-carbon economy presents opportunities for growth, leadership, and harmony on the global stage”. 

Reform UK in County Durham seem to be dismissing all the opportunities presented by going down the road to Net Zero.

Darlington Council rejects call to scrap climate emergency pledge

Therefore,  it is perhaps no wonder that Darlington Council has rejected calls to scrap their climate emergency pledges. Responding to calls to scrap the climate pledge, Cllr McEwan of Darlington Town Council said: “The answer is no. We will not scrap this commitment”.

Cllr McEwan went to state that the pledge doesn’t just focus on the environment but also on “energy security, dealing with fuel poverty, and energy resilience in an uncertain world where we face international threats.”

Cllr McEwan also commented on the decision that Reform-led County Durham Council made in July: “My view is that Durham made a mistake in scrapping some of the initiatives that could have worked towards lowering their operating costs and allowing more resources to be placed into a priority area – and we treat children’s services as a priority area.”

Net Zero means jobs

It is indeed true that the road to Net Zero presents economic opportunities, especially for a region like ours, as well as being better for the licmate and healthier for our children and the rest of the general public. As has been argued in North East Bylines, a just transition towards a carbon neutral economy in the North East could provide jobs and opportunities for our young people in the future.  These include jobs in offshore wind generation, already providing major economic benefits at Port of Tyne, jobs in generating solar energy, and further employment in generating power from water and in energy storage. 

These opportunities could be further strengthened by community wealth building, with a regional bank investing in local green businesses and we need to build a network of anchor institutions including the regional authorities and local universities. Reform UK has seemingly got one thing right; there needs to be better infrastructure for public transport, but this also needs to be an integrated  across the whole North East.

In fact it can be argued that we need to go a lot further, a lot faster, with moves towards green municipal energy companies, owned by local or regional authorities, which can not only provide clean green energy, but also provide both cheaper energy and greater energy security at what is a very volatile time.

Ideology before investment

Developing a true just transition to carbon neutral is a long way from the simple virtue-signalling suggested by Darren Grimes in July.  Clearly it is an environmental imperative as it should be across the world. Millions of people are already badly affected by the climate crisis, for example in Sahel and many places affected by sea level rises.

Reform UK also misses the point that the road to Net Zero is not something that will ultimately cost us a lot of money, but is instead a great opportunity for a region like the North East to recover from the demise of our heavy industry 40 years ago, through a just transition bringing many good, well-paid jobs to our young people in the green economy, so that we can move on from being an important fossil fuel region in the past to a green energy superpower in the future. That seems a real pity.