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Abstract
In the last few years the political conditions for pursuing climate policy in the UK have changed considerably. There has been a concerted backlash against ‘net zero’ by right wing populists, that has since become embraced (tentatively under Sunak, enthusiastically under Badenoch) by the Conservative Party leadership. Climate has thus become a ‘wedge’ issue between Labour and Conservatives, having been previously largely consensual regarding the goal of pursuing action to combat climate change. But the result of the 2024 general election mean that there are now much more complex electoral considerations that ought to shape the strategies of both Labour and Conservatives over climate change. The successes – actual and potential – of both the Green Party and Reform UK now put considerable electoral pressure in ways that promise to keep climate action on the electoral agenda. This presentation details these dynamics and presents a sketch of a current project that is tracking the effects of these dynamics as they play out, both in terms of how that pressure evolves over time and how Labour and Conservatives – but especially the Labour government, respond to it in the design of climate policy.
Biography
Matthew Paterson is Professor of International Politics at the University of Manchester, Director of the Sustainable Consumption Institute, and Deputy Director of the recently established Centre on Joined Up Sustainability Transformations (JUST). His research focuses on the political economy, global governance, and cultural politics of climate change. His latest book is In Search of Climate Politics (Cambridge University Press, 2021), and previous publications include Global Warming and Global Politics (1996). He is currently working on a project on the political economy of energy transitions, especially focused on the disruption to supply chains these transitions entail.