£22 billion. Yes, £22 billion—ring a bell, anyone? Well, it should, because it’s the very same sum Labour’s been harping on about as the size of the so-called “black hole” in the nation’s finances.
A figure they’ve wielded as a cudgel to beat the Tories, claiming our economy is in tatters, and yet here they are, poised to spend that very same £22 billion—on what, you ask? On carbon capture. You don’t have to be Columbo to spot the glaring contradiction staring us in the face!
Now, let me be clear, I’m not a complete carbon-capture sceptic. The notion that we can whisk away those naughty molecules from the atmosphere and tuck them safely out of sight is nothing short of ingenious… if it works. But let’s be honest, it’s still very much in the realm of experimental fantasy rather than proven reality. Yet, here we are, with Labour charging headlong into this expensive gamble, all while proclaiming we’re in the midst of a fiscal crisis of historic proportions. The timing, the sheer gall of it, is frankly bewildering.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I’d rather see that £22 billion spent on ensuring Britain can stand on her own two feet—making sure we don’t have to go cap in hand to the Kremlin or Beijing to keep the lights on.
Labour would have you believe there’s a neat little switcheroo going on here—on one hand, they berate the Conservatives for a £22 billion shortfall, and on the other, they whip out the very same figure to fund this shiny new project. It’s as if the financial black hole and the carbon capture scheme have swapped places in some great Westminster conjuring trick. You can almost hear the faint echoes of ‘Abracadabra’ in the background.
But let’s rewind a little and put this into context. Remember how we got here. Labour, with all its chest-thumping green credentials, has been at the forefront of dismantling the backbone of our industrial might—our coal, our steel, our homegrown energy industries. And what have we been left with? Energy dependence on Russia, China, and anyone else willing to sell us their resources, often at a hefty price. Yet now, in the midst of a financial crisis of their own making, they’re hurtling forward with a plan to spend £22 billion on carbon capture.
I can’t help but wonder: is this really the right time?
Of course, they’ll dress it up in all the usual language—sustainability, net zero, leading the green revolution, and all that. But the irony is plain to see. Labour, the very same party that has systematically hollowed out our energy independence, now wants to present itself as the saviour of the planet with this grand, wallet-emptying gesture.
Let’s take a closer look at the numbers. While other countries are still building coal power plants, the UK has been reducing its emissions for decades. We’ve made remarkable strides in cleaning up our act. But do we really need to throw £22 billion—money we supposedly don’t have—at carbon capture right now? Wouldn’t it make more sense to first invest in building up our energy resilience? You know, ensuring we’re not left at the mercy of autocratic regimes to keep the lights on?
And let’s not forget that carbon capture technology is still untested at the scale Labour is proposing. This isn’t some magic wand that’s going to solve all our problems overnight. It’s expensive, it’s experimental, and there’s no guarantee it will deliver the results they’re promising. Yet, here we are, with Labour ready to sign a blank cheque of our money for it.
In their rush to become the lean, green, (and mean!) party of the future, Labour has overlooked something quite fundamental… the here and now. The hard-working people of this country are already grappling with a cost-of-living crisis after Covid, world energy prices are through the roof, and inflation is squeezing wallets tighter than ever. And yet, Labour wants to spend £22 billion on a risky gamble, while at the same time claiming there’s a financial black hole so large it could swallow the economy whole.
It’s almost as if they think we won’t notice. But we do. The British public isn’t daft. We can see the inconsistencies, the contradictions, the double-speak. We can see that Labour’s priorities are all over the place.
Is this really the right time to be splurging billions on carbon capture when we could be investing in energy independence, shoring up our economy, and providing real support to those struggling with their bills?
Yet here we are: Labour wagging their finger about a £22 billion black hole, while cheerfully writing a £22 billion cheque for carbon capture, as though the numbers will magically cancel each other out. It’s like trying to plug a sinking ship by drilling another hole.
Now, I don’t know about you, but I’d rather see that £22 billion spent on ensuring Britain can stand on her own two feet—making sure we don’t have to go cap in hand to the Kremlin or Beijing to keep the lights on. Or, perhaps, on something a bit more immediate, like ensuring our elderly don’t freeze in their homes this winter. Just a thought, Labour.
It’s almost like Labour found a magic calculator: punch in £22 billion for a black hole, and voilà—out comes £22 billion for carbon capture. Now, if only they could use that calculator to find some common sense!
Claire Bullivant, Editor
Claire is the founder and editor of the Conservative Post and was a co-founder of the Conservative Democratic Organisation. Claire is now setting up www.GreatBritishPAC.com. Pre-register today.
A waste of £22 billion! 13 sites were studied and 7 underperformed, two failed and one was mothballed- I will send you the article from the Guardian
Not only have labour magically found 22 billion for carbon capture they have also found around a billion pounds to send to different parts of the world. I am a pensioner who has lived a portion of my life using my brain not tech and whilst I may not be the cleverest person in the world it’s not rocket science to work out just how stupid starmer and co think we are
CO2 has very little (perhaps nothing) to do with the weather you know. All of this is a total and deliberate way to undermine the West. Along side migration (legal and illegal) the system will be caused to collapse into chaos….. and remember what chaos is if you planned it? It’s a LADDER. The NWO will rise from OUR ashes.