The Tories’ former net zero tsar has revealed he intends to vote Labour for the first time because Rishi Sunak has been “siding with climate deniers” to politicise the energy transition.
Writing exclusively on the Guardian website, Chris Skidmore, a former energy minister, said he could not back the Tories, who had argued that net zero was "a burden and not a benefit", a decision that he said would cost the party votes.
In a deeply personal attack, he accused the prime minister of breaking the consensus of the past on climate action to "seek division and polarisation", suggesting it was the "greatest tragedy" of his premiership.
"Worse still has been the rhetoric and extreme tone that has sought to politicise net zero as being forced upon people, a false narrative that is either the product of ignorance, or deliberate misinformation," he said.
The former Tory MP, who attended cabinet in his previous role, becomes the most senior figure yet to switch his support to Labour, following a small handful of Tory backbench defections, in a further blow to Sunak's campaign.
The prime minister has had yet another difficult week, with four major polls suggesting the Tories are on track to suffer their worst-ever defeat and senior cabinet ministers projected to lose their seats.
The polls, combined with warnings from Conservative figures that Labour would have unchecked power if it won a large majority, have raised suspicions that the party is now engaged in damage limitation rather than trying to win.
Sunak has also become mired in a row over alleged betting on the election date after it emerged that a second Tory candidate and the party's campaigns director were being looked into by the Gambling defeat and senior cabinet ministers projected to lose their seats.
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