Every conference season has its theme tune. This year, depending on which hall you were in, it was hope, fear or a familiar call to cut the cost of living, often all three at once.
Last year, I wrote about a fading green consensus, arguing that the cross party agreement on climate and nature had fractured. Twelve months on, it hasn’t so much faded as disappeared, both from sight and, for some, from memory. It is easy to forget that the Climate Change Act passed in 2008 with near unanimous support, and that net zero became law with barely a murmur of dissent in 2019. This autumn, action on the climate and nature crises were treated less as shared national goals and more definitively than ever as political dividing lines.
Labour found its voice, but the budget will test it
It was impossible to miss the hope messaging at Labour’s conference and, by the end, it felt as though a renewed sense of optimism had taken hold. Andy Burnham’s speech was emotional and personal, and it went down well both in the hall and in the polls. Just as noticeable was the change in tone around the conference centre. In contrast to last year, ministers were visible, accessible and evidently passionate about their briefs. They seemed trusted to say what they thought, in front of members and attendees alike. It felt like a genuine shift. As ever, election expert John Curtice offered a note of caution: a bounce for a new prime minister mid-parliament is normal.
Miatta Fahnbulleh, at her first conference as energy secretary, embodied that candour. Insisting that bills are “not high because of net zero”, she made bringing them down her measure of success. She was ready to take on Reform on climate “because I think we can win” and frank about the UK’s slow progress on adaptation. After a summer of heatwaves and wildfires, that honesty is welcome. Now it needs to translate into a comprehensive plan.
As expected, devolution was the thread running through the conference. Labour announced that the Warm Homes Plan will be handed to mayors and councils as the ‘Great Home Upgrade’, alongside a £1 billion Local Power Plan for community energy. Mayors spoke warmly about being consulted by ministers as genuine partners. At a fringe meeting on transport, Tracy Brabin argued in a fringe meeting that “if you want growth in every postcode, you have to connect every postcode”. The same logic applies to warm, efficient homes, and so does her warning against giving mayors responsibility without resources.
That warning may soon be tested. If reports ahead of the 28 October budget are correct, the Warm Homes Plan could be cut to free up money for defence. Rebranding and devolving a programme only to strip out its funding would undermine the very local leaders Labour spent the week praising. The budget will show whether the conference rhetoric holds, on home upgrades, moving levies off bills and meaningful support for the one in five households in energy debt.
The Conservatives are no longer the party of conservation
It is worth reflecting upon how much has changed in two years. In 2024, the Conservatives went into the general election committed to net zero by 2050. In Birmingham this month, shadow energy secretary Andrew Bowie set out plans to repeal the Climate Change Act, scrap the 2050 target, abolish GB Energy and maximise North Sea extraction. The repeal pledges drew some of the loudest applause of the week.
Then the party went further. The shadow environment secretary, Victoria Atkins, announced plans to abolish Natural England and the Environment Agency, bringing their powers under direct ministerial control. As one attendee remarked, there is a question about whether the Conservatives are still the party of conservation.
The Conservatives have taken a leaf out of Reform’s playbook, turning first net zero and now wider environmental protection into dividing lines. It is hard to see the electoral logic. Around 60 per cent of the public back the 2050 target and IPPR has found that the backlash against net zero is largely confined to political elites on the right. Bowie called his approach “not ideological, it’s pragmatic”, yet new North Sea output would be too small to move global prices, and it is fossil fuel exposure, not wind farms, that has been driving recent energy crises.
However, there was still common ground, particularly away from the main stage. Speaking at our Green Groups Reception, the shadow nature minister, Aphra Brandreth, argued that protecting nature and supporting the economy “do not have to be competing visions”. Centre right pressure group Prosper likewise made the case for retaining the 2050 target, arguing that the Conservatives’ route back to power lies in showing how decarbonisation can lower costs and why environmental action must stay on course. These voices may be in the minority for now, but they are not going away.
Lib Dems were upbeat but searching for a sharper edge
Brighton was relatively upbeat and passionate. That may have had something to do with the sunshine and the sea swims it made possible in early autumn.
Beneath the optimism, though, there were questions about whether Ed Davey’s party is being bold enough. There was also early election chatter about a coalition with Labour, with proportional representation the obvious red line. John Curtice was blunt: the 2024 strategy is all but exhausted, with few remaining seats left where the LibDems are second to the Conservatives.
The policy offer was mixed. An emergency 10p cut in fuel duty sits awkwardly with the party’s climate credentials, while a £1 bus fare cap, cheaper rail fares and a VAT cut on public EV charging point signal a more promising direction.
The Liberal Democrats have shown they can win support by speaking to communities that feel overlooked by Westminster. The challenge now is to turn that local energy into a more distinctive national offer, one that goes beyond defending their electoral gains and sets out what they want to change. In Brighton, the mood was positive, but the underlying question was harder: what is the next chapter of the Lib Dems’ story and how will the party use its position to make a meaningful difference?
What it all means
Neither of the newer challengers had an easy conference season. Reform’s was overshadowed by allegations over donations and the treatment of a protester. The Greens’ gathering was dominated by a divisive row over a Middle East motion, prompting former co-leader Adrian Ramsay to urge the party to return to its environmental core.
Yet, five party politics is here to stay, and the latest mega-polls point to a deeply hung parliament.
In this landscape, energy bills are the battleground. Labour blames exposure to fossil fuels, the Conservative leadership blames net zero and the Lib Dem’s want short term relief on fuel prices. Whoever wins that argument will shape climate policy for a decade.
The task for the environment sector is clearer than it was a year ago. We need to own the argument around the cost of living with rigorous, non-partisan evidence. We must hold parties to their words, whether that’s Labour on home upgrades and adaptation, or the Conservatives on their insistence that climate change is real and something we must address. And we need to back the local leaders ready to deliver.
The public remains on side. As Luke Tryl of More in Common put it, the British public love three things: “banning things, apprenticeships, and nature and animals”. People haven’t forgotten why this matters, even if some politicians have. For voters, climate and nature are not separate issues, but part of the same environment we all depend on and want to protect.
The green consensus may be missing for now, but the case for it isn’t. Rebuilding it will take more than nostalgia for 2008. It needs a practical story about lower bills, good jobs and thriving places, and it needs promises that make it through the budget intact.
Discover more from Inside track
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
