The Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire has told renewable energy firms seeking government funding to “enter at your own risk”. Luke Campbell‘s stark words followed a question posed by a member of the public regarding Reform UK‘s stance on net zero.
The party’s deputy leader, Richard Tice MP, recently sent a letter to energy firms warning that a Reform UK government would “reassess all net zero-related commitments”. It comes after Mr Campbell announced the Combined Authority had secured a government grant to be used to fund solar panels across the region – something he said he was “delighted” about.
At a meeting of the Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority (HEYCA) Executive Board, held on Friday, July 25, a member of the public, Mr Edward Washer, quizzed the Mayor on the issue during the Public Questions part of the meeting’s agenda. This was not the first time the pair had come face to face on the issue of net zero as in May he asked if the Mayor saw “any conflict” between Reform UK’s stance and his own, to which the Mayor said: “I’ve been very vocal on stating that I represent this region and I put them first over any party politics. I’ve always expressed that I’ll put this region first over anything.”
Mr Washer’s question to the Mayor on July 25 pertained to the upcoming seventh round of allocations (AR7) of the Government’s Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme which seeks to incentivise the green transition. In his letter to energy firm leaders, Mr Tice said a Reform government, which he believes is “now more likely than not,” would “seek to strike down all contracts signed under AR7”.
(Image: PA)
In light of Mr Tice’s letter, Mr Washer asked: “What advice would the Mayor give to companies in our area that might be considering entering bids in AR7?” Mr Campbell thanked Mr Washer for his question and said: “I would suggest to enter at your own risk. I don’t have any solutions. I’m not an expert on green energy.”
Mr Campbell’s stance on net zero has been under the spotlight ever since he was elected as the region’s first Mayor on May 1. While Reform UK seeks to scrap net zero schemes, one of the four principles stated on the website of the Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority that Mr Campbell is the figurehead of is to “deliver a sustainable future through clean energy generation, sustainable development, climate adaptation and resilience, and a strategic approach to harnessing our natural capital asset”.
Mr Campbell has shown support for renewable industries on a number of occasions in his first months in office. He has supported the Combined Authority’s bid for an allocation of the Government’s Mayoral Renewables Fund, which will fund solar panels being placed on the roofs of a number of building across Hull and the East Riding.
(Image: Donna Clifford/HullLive)
He has also visited and shown support to the Vivergo Fuels bioethanol site which faces closure. The site is, as managing director Ben Hackett has said, “the foundation on which the UK green industrial growth strategy can be built”.
As the renewables sector is key to the region, questions around how a Reform UK Mayor would balance the interests of the region and the party were raised numerous times throughout the election campaign. This was, for example, a key talking point in the Hull Daily Mail’s election debate in which the Labour candidate Margaret Pinder told Mr Campbell he “can’t have it both ways”, adding: “You’re trying to but you can’t.”
The debate also saw the Liberal Democrat candidate, Cllr Mike Ross, who is the leader of Hull City Council, ask Mr Campbell if he disagreed with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage on the issue of net zero. Mr Campbell replied: “It’s not up to me whether I agree with that.”