Sunak Caves In Again to UK Tory MPs — This Time Over Onshore Wind

(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has agreed to end the effective ban on new onshore wind farms in the UK, his second major climbdown in two days in the face of a rebellion among Conservative members of Parliament.

The government announced a consultation on letting local communities decide whether they want new wind farms built in their area, the Department for Levelling up said in an emailed statement on Tuesday. It is expected to remove the requirement for onshore wind sites to be pre-designated in a local plan. 

The consultation is expected to be concluded by the end of April, the department said. Ministers will also look at allowing communities that host wind farms to have their energy bills lowered. National parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty will be protected in the revised plans.

Sunak’s government had previously sought to maintain the de facto ban on onshore wind that is currently in place, but bowed to pressure from the rebels.

The U-Turn comes just a day after the government backed down on its plan to impose mandatory housebuilding targets on local councils.

Both concessions show how Sunak is beholden to the various factions in his party, ranging from MPs in leafy areas who don’t want new houses built in their constituencies, to those seeking a more radical plan for economic growth who want to see wind farms and other projects going ahead.

Each grouping appears to have the numbers to force the government to change direction on its policies, even though Sunak enjoys a working majority of 69 in the House of Commons.

Former Cabinet minister Simon Clarke, who led the Tory rebellion in favor of onshore wind, said the government had agreed a “really sensible package designed to return decisions about new onshore wind to local communities.”

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