Boris Johnson becomes third former Tory PM to criticise Kemi Badenoch's policies

Boris Johnson has warned the Conservatives volition not triumph the adjacent predetermination by "bashing the greenish agenda".

Under Kemi Badenoch, the Tories person vowed to repeal the Climate Change Act - and scrap an "impossible" committedness to scope nett zero by 2050 because it risks "bankrupting" the UK.

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But successful a caller podcast, the erstwhile premier curate has described existent arguments surrounding biology argumentation arsenic "depressing".

Mr Johnson claimed mundane voters aren't funny successful anti-net zero policies - but simply privation "cheap greenish energy" arsenic they grapple with the cost-of-living crisis.

"I didn't spot america soaring successful the polls arsenic a effect of saying what rubbish nett zero is. I didn't spot a monolithic leap successful enactment for the Conservatives," helium told The Smart Society Show.

He has go the 3rd erstwhile Tory premier curate to criticise the party's absorption to policies designed to chopped c emissions and trim planetary warming.

Earlier this week, Theresa May cautioned the Conservatives against utilizing "populism" for "short-term governmental ends".

In a wide-ranging code to the House of Lords, she warned scrapping nett zero policies was an "extreme and unnecessary measure" that would "fatally undermine" Britain's planetary enactment connected climate issues - arsenic good arsenic jobs and concern generated by the transition.

She told peers: "This announcement lone reinforces clime argumentation arsenic a dividing enactment successful our politics, alternatively than being the unifying contented it erstwhile was.

"And for the Conservative Party, it risks chasing votes from Reform astatine the disbursal of the wider electorate."

Baroness May went connected to item polling that suggests the British nationalist are broadly supportive of eliminating c emissions.

A time later, Sir John Major besides claimed the Conservative Party's existent policies risk "alienating" the electorate.

He said: "We fare little good erstwhile mean opinions are banished oregon - wherever maintained - tolerated and ignored.

"So - erstwhile our enactment says 'no' to Europe, 'no' to clime change, 'no' to overseas assistance - it falls retired with the bulk of nationalist opinion.

"Such policies whitethorn delight a number of opinion, but not the wide broad of electors successful our fundamentally tolerant and kindly nation."

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Mr Johnson had supported the UK's nett zero targets during his clip successful Downing Street, and hosted Glasgow's COP26 acme backmost successful 2021.

But since leaving office, helium has suggested helium went "far excessively fast" connected eco-friendly policies, particularly considering vigor prices roseate pursuing Russia's penetration of Ukraine.

Speaking to the podcast, Mr Johnson said surging bills had been "a large footwear successful the teeth" that made it "really pugnacious for radical similar america to marque the lawsuit for reducing CO2".

Nonetheless, the erstwhile PM insisted helium had "lost nary of my zeal" for nett zero: "I inactive fundamentally judge that it's the close happening to do, adjacent if you can't get determination arsenic accelerated arsenic we wanted to do."

Looking ahead, helium besides warned that "the immense demands of AI" mean bills could support connected rising unless cheaper and much effectual solutions are found.