The Energy Secretary is faced with a dire polling result that suggests a lot of Brits don’t agree with him
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband (Image: Getty)
A damning two-thirds of Britons prioritise lowering energy bills over removing fossil fuel from the UK’s electricity supply, a new poll claims – in yet another blow to Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband. This week ex-Labour Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair attacked Miliband’s net zero policies as a “fantasy” amid rising bills with the UK responsible for less than 1% of yearly global emissions of greenhouse gases.
It came as households were warned energy bills will surge by £221 after the latest price cap rose by 13%, and Sir Tony said the UK should pursue cheaper energy, arguing Britain cannot solve climate change alone. He called on the government to “remove those parts of the net-zero agenda which prioritise clean energy over cheaper energy”. Sir Tony said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer must rethink Labour’s approach to net zero and abandon policies that put climate targets ahead of affordability.
Asked on Wednesday whether he was proposing the PM tear up the Energy Secretary’s targets, he said: “Yes, I am. It’s not that I’m against renewable energy, clean energy, and it’s not that I’m a climate denier.
“It’s coming to terms with this reality: the three biggest emitters in the world today are China, America and India. Together they account for just over 50% of global emissions.
“All of them are pursuing cheap energy and electrification. Doesn’t mean to say they’re not doing renewable energy, China builds more renewable energy than the rest of the world put together.
“It just means that the lens through which they judge policy is cheap energy and the need for electrification, particularly in the age of AI.”
The UK legally committed to balancing the greenhouse gases put into the atmosphere with the amount taken out by 2050.
The new YouGov poll found 65% of Britons prioritise lower energy bills over removing fossil fuels from energy supply (24%).
Only Green voters prefer removing fossil fuels from the energy supply (56%) over preventing bills increasing (34%). Voters for all the other main parties prioritised preventing bill increases.
Dylan Difford, YouGov data journalist, said: “Hot on the heels of the warmest ever May days in Britain, and with annual household energy bills set to rise by 13% in July, Tony Blair’s essay on the state of the Labour government has included the suggestion that they should stop prioritising ‘clean energy over cheaper energy’.
“The British public mostly agree with the former prime minister, with 65% saying preventing increases in energy bills should be the bigger priority, compared to just 24% who feel removing fossil fuels from the energy supply should come first.
“Labour voters themselves tend to feel cheaper energy should be prioritised by a margin of 56% to 36%, though this compares to 90% of Reform UK voters and 84% of Conservatives seeing bills as more important.
“Green voters disagree, feeling cleaning up the UK’s energy supply should come first by 56% to 34%.”
Blair with Miliband back when Ed was Labour leader (Image: Getty)
The data came from interviewing 6687 UK adults on Wednesday 27th May 2026.
Ecotricity founder Dale Vince urged the Government to remove environmental and social levies entirely from energy bills and bring it into general taxation.
While Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho said: “We need to scrap net zero and cut the taxes and levies on bills to make electricity cheap. Whether it’s for air con, AI, industry or living standards we have to put cheap energy first.”
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice said Mr Miliband’s “net zero fanaticism is crippling British industry” and making life harder for working people.
But the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero stressed energy bills remain high because wholesale costs, the single largest component of the price cap, remain higher than their historic levels.
They pointed out that energy bills were lower in 2025 than in 2024. Official statistics show that average bills in cash terms based on actual consumption were lower in 2025 (£1719) than in 2024 (£1745).
They also argued that renewables remain the cheapest electricity sources to build and operate at scale – and the more renewables we build, the more often they will set the wholesale market price instead of gas.
A DESNZ spokesperson said: “Our number one priority is lowering bills, which remain high because wholesale costs, the single largest component of the price cap, are higher than their historic levels.
“We have taken £150 average costs off energy bills for the years ahead and extended the Warm Home Discount to around six million households.
“The way to get bills down for good and avoid these price spikes is to go further and faster with this government’s drive for clean homegrown power we control.”
