Reform UK backs abolishing ‘mad Ed Miliband’s job’ just hours after Keir Starmer’s Cabinet purge

Reform UK members have voted to abolish Ed Miliband’s net zero department and repeal the Climate Change Act.

The motion, proposed by Doncaster Cllr Rachel Reid, instead suggested Reform UK could create a new independent energy security group.

Taking to the stage, Cllr Reid said: “This motion gives me hope and that is exactly what this country needs.

“Hope for energy security, hope for affordability, hope that Britain can once again stand tall.

“But for nearly 40 years, we’ve been dragged down the ideological path.

“It began with Tony Blair dancing to the tune of the multi-nationals, it was hardened by Gordon Brown with the Climate Change Act, it was driven forward by ‘Mad Ed Miliband’, and it was cemented in law by robotic Theresa May.”

She added: “This is why we joined Reform because the people of this country have no choice, because the people have no voice, and because someone has to stand up and say enough.”

Three Reform UK members spoke on the motion in the main hall at the NEC.

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One member explained that he did not think the motion went far enough.

He added: “I think my point is with the decisions being made, I would like them to be made by the market and not by so-called experts behind desks in Whitehall.

“So could we have a market-based economy, market-based decisions and not some individuals’ preferences?”

A second member wanted reassurance that Reform’s independent group would not become another quango.

Ed Miliband was spared in Sir Keir Starmer’s Cabinet reshuffle

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Meanwhile, a third member warned: “That wording of ‘independent energy security group’ really concerns me. It sounds like another quango and I’m really interested to hear your thoughts on how we can avoid it becoming that kind of thing.”

The motion was voted on by a show of hands, with a sea of arms being held aloft and just a handful going up to vote against the proposal.

Reform UK chairman David Bull revealed that 25 motions had been submitted, with three clear themes emerging.

Motions require the support from at least 10 other members, stretching across 10 separate branches to reach the conference floor.

Three Reform UK members discuss the motion

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Responding to the motion votes, Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice MP said: “When Nigel promised to democratise the party, he meant it. Reform members have today been given a meaningful say in the policy direction of our party.”

However, Reform UK’s constitution, which was unveiled at last year’s autumn conference, describes carried motions as being treated as an “advisory force”.

But the net zero motion would ultimately end any need for Reform UK to fill the Cabinet place of Net Zero Secretary if Nigel Farage wins the 2029 General Election.

Mr Miliband, who is expected to face a huge threat from Reform UK in his Doncaster North seat, was placed as Sir Keir Starmer’s climate change chief immediately after the 2024 General Election.

Mr Miliband was briefly tipped to lose his job in Sir Keir’s Cabinet reshuffle on Friday.

However, the former Labour leader held on, despite rising energy costs and his failure to deliver on a promise to cut household bills.

Reform UK’s opposition to net zero is also a cornerstone of Mr Farage’s commitment to cut down on wasteful spending.

Mr Farage has claimed that the UK could save £30billion every year for the next 25 years by ending subsidies related to renewable power generation and emission reductions.

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