Reform MP installed solar to save on bills as party calls renewables ‘massive con’
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/feb/13/reform-mp-rupert-lowe-hails-solar-energy-money-saver-while-party-vows-tax-sector?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Posted by Coolnumber11
26 Comments
It’s almost as if these people aren’t entirely honest
> On Thursday, Reform’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, described renewable energy as a “massive con” as the party announced plans to tax solar farms and ban battery storage systems, which it claims are dangerous.
Poor Tice, he’ll always be second place in the populist dickhead race when Farage is around.
Reform itself is a massive con so story checks out
Rupert Lowe reduced prime agriculture land to add solar panels?
Isn’t there another Reform MP who is against solar, but is actively investing in those companies.
I know Rupert Lowe is against green energy, but has a heat pump company he is apart of.
Ah the Reform motto – it’s fine for me, but not for thee
Headlines very misleading. Reform aren’t anti-renewable, reform are against the notion we must de-industrialise and go all in on renewables as being this perfect, infinitely efficient, one size fits all solution that’ll solve climate change. Oh and also not going nuclear too.
That’s the bit that’s a con. Renewables are great, but we need nuclear too and there is zero reason or benefit to the world or the UK, if we de-industrialise ourselves, off shore jobs to countries that pollute massively more than us, and have to rely on foreign powers more and more putting at a worse position strategically.
The only people who benefit from this cult of green are the emerging industrial powers like India, or countries like China which are already massively larger than us. It’s things like the climate Paris accord that we signed that forbid us from polluting much, but at the same time allowing China to continue to pollute massively for another 20 years.
I say this as a reform voter, so cue the ad hominem, pejorative insults, bad faith arguments, and lack of real argument
Edit: 9 downvotes but only two people with actual arguments and looks like we don’t even really disagree! Wow wonder what would happen if people didn’t just downvote the ‘other’ side and actually talked with them more…
I’m no Reform supporter, but there is a massive difference between having solar panels on your property to cut your daytime bills and relying on them for energy security.
For every solar farm or wind turbine there has to be some energy storage process as well that is capable of storing large amounts of energy. Hence the expense.
They don’t believe in climate change even as it causes the masses of migration that hey claim to hate.
I don’t get this. Even if you don’t accept man made climate change, surely anyone can see that fossil fuels are polluting, dangerous to extract, finite and increase our reliance on many extremely unpleasant and authoritarian nations, who are not our friends.
Anything that lessens our reliance on them can only be a good thing, surely?
Renawables are not without their issues, but the technology is getting better and cheaper all the time, and they are infinitely better than more Coal and Oil.
It’s my opinion that a combination of renewable and nuclear (another energy source that the fossil fuel industry has conducted a scaremongering campaign against) are the future.
Strange. I thought his constituency of Skegness and Dubai was a prime place for solar panels
The pettiness of The Guardian in reporting this is actually something I can get behind.
Evidence 1005: Reform people are liars, fraudsters, and opportunists with zero moral values. They would sell their country in a minute if it meant becoming super rich.
Reform are just the latest British Fascist Party. The UK has a long history of Fascist Party’s and they all push the same old rhetoric …… politics isnt working, immigration, peoples party and attacks on minorities rights. etc etc Do some history research and educate yourself…. anyone heard of the 1919 Race Riots ? The biggest riots in British History …. Go on Google it
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_fascism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_fascism)
Is this it? This is all they can muster against Rupert Lowe – he has some solar panels on his property?
Why is that inconsistent with the belief that trying to power the country’s entire domestic and industrial grid on renewables is completely mad? We are literally deindustrialising because of Net Zero. Our energy policies are the reason we have the single highest industrial energy prices in the world at $0.52 per kilowatt-hour – the USA is $0.14, France is $0.18, even Germany’s is only $0.24. It’s a total disaster.
Every other farmer has installed some solar panels or a small wind turbine somewhere on their land. Even if it’s just for a grain shed or a barn which’d otherwise cost even more to connect to the main supply. And they’ll all tell you – it’s absolutely useless in the winter.
Solar is rarely worth the investment even on a domestic level, but it can be useful if you’re a farmer whose farm requires enough energy during the summer to make it worth it. Harry’s Farm just did a great video on this exact subject.
He wants to reduce bills but thinks power line should be below ground instead of pylons, which is much more expensive, he’s a moron.
This is incredibly dishonest. The literal line they use is government subsidies of renewables is a scam, Nigel has said himself if it can pay for itself then he’s all for it….
Which I presume is exactly what this MP has done this is just misrepresentation of facts for political gamesmanship…
But it’s the Guardian what else would you expect
If you want to see a real con MP see any Liebour MP.
Right Wing populist outed as a hypocrite.
In other news the sky is up
Of course he did….. It’s almost like their entire political movement is fraudulently dishonest and based on self enrichment at the expense of everyone else. I honestly do not understand how the electorate don’t see strait though them.
I cannot say the country benefitted from the conservatives. But I also don’t believe that the brand of post Cameron conservativism that the UK got was a good or fair representation of what is possible under the umberalla of the party. As a centrist they have massively put me off. Labour are also far from perfect and are currently making mistakes and putting policies forward that I don’t necessarily agree with.
Reform on the other hand are not a serious political party. I cannot believe any of them actually care about the country or the wellbeing of the electorate. They are a populist, bunch of destructive disruptors who would oversee greater wealth transfer from the many to the few whilst misdirecting their base at immigration, the EU and any other number of other external factors. Slight of hand politics worth of any of the worlds polulists.
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Time Starmer stood up for Ukraine , Canada and the EU. Leave Farage and Tice kissing Trumps arse.
I seriously don’t understand why people are so against renewables
Seriously don’t understand it
[Brexit has put £370m a year on price of power from EU since 2021, experts say](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/oct/25/brexit-has-put-370m-a-year-on-price-of-power-from-eu-since-2021-experts-say)
Hahaha – all the Lefties are frothing at this nonsense. Reform is NOT against solar panels on rooftops. They made this very clear even just yeaterday. What they oppose are (i) solar panels on agricultural land, and (ii) the subsidies given to the solar panel industry.
So it turns out the Grauniad is completely wrong and dishonest. As usual!!
The war against renewables is very funny because on the one hand it’s plainly obvious that the only reason certain politicians are against it is to represent the interests and gain the support of oil and gas lobbyists. But even funnier is that no matter what happens in the world, eventually renewable technology will be cheaper, cleaner, safer and more efficient – so giving up a potential lead in the sector to China is wilfully signing away energy independence for the near future.