Paul Dorfman on Party conference decisions

Posted: 12th October 2026

‘We need less point scoring’: What party conference season taught us about UK climate action. Tories plan to scrap low-carbon housebuilding, Greens back new nuclear reactors, and Labour put oil-drilling decisions on hold. Jan Rosenow, a professor of climate and energy policy at the University of Oxford, said: “Every home constructed today that runs on fossil fuels is a liability for the occupants. It also results in investor uncertainty and disrupts the supply chain that has been gearing up for this. What we need is less political point scoring and more long-term clarity.” Paul Dorfman, Bennett scholar at the University of Sussex and the chair of the Nuclear Consulting Group thinktank, said: “The Green party has taken a wrong turn on nuclear and this will lose them significant grassroot support and votes. “With 20-plus-year construction times, repeated delays and huge cost overruns, new nuclear diverts scarce resources from faster options. Renewables, storage, efficiency and stronger grids can deliver much more for every pound spent.”

Guardian 11th Oct 2026
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/oct/11/party-conference-season-uk-climate-action-tories-greens-labour