The former British prime minister, Tony Blair who was in office from 1997 to 2007 and won three elections has come out in an interview with the Times critical of the UK's Starmer Labour government's climate policy. The policy also known as Net Zero which began under the previous Conservative led government aims to sharply reduce the UKs CO2 emissions. The energy and climate secretary, Ed Milliband has banned new North Sea oil licenses to extract gas and oil and instead pushing solar and wind power. In practice this has led to energy shortages forcing the UK to import electricity from France, oil and gas from other countries including Norway and more controversially Russia. Mr Blair urges the government to ease off on this policy and in particular work to gain energy independence to boost the suffering UK economy with the revenue which usage of oil and gas brings. The last quarter of 2026 saw the UK economy continuing near flatline growth at a very modest 0.2%. Electricity prices are often the highest in the world making manufacturing expensive and as Mr Blair pointed out, hinders the growth of AI. The PM, Sir Keir Starmer dismissed Mr Blair's statement, reiterating that his government's Net Zero agenda is brining sustainable growth and much needed climate action for the benefits of the British people and the wider world. Fact data: UK unemployment rose to 5% (March 2026) Average electricity cost May 2026 26.1/kWh, expected to rise by 13% by July 2026. UK inflation April 2026: 2.8% (down from 3.3% the month before) Compared to USA, unemployment: 4.3%, inflation 3.8%, electricity 18.2cents (13.3p). France unemployment 8.1%, inflation 2.4%, electricity costs: 0.194 euro (17p) per Kwh