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Nigel Farage is back. Again. The bloke who brought us Brexit is now pushing for Nexit - Britain’s exit from Net Zero. This time, it’s not about fish or flags or imaginary Brussels bureaucrats. It’s about energy. About your bills, your job, your standard of living. And once again, he's got it all upside down.
Now credit where it’s due - Farage is a great communicator. He’s tapped into real anger and hardship. The recent local election results show he’s gaining ground. People are fed up. Bills are too high. Wages aren’t keeping up. The future feels like it’s shrinking. Farage comes along with a simple message: it’s net zero’s fault. But here’s the thing - it’s not. He’s right about the problem, but he’s completely wrong about the cause. And dangerously wrong about the solution.
Let’s start with the basics. Your energy bills? They’re still sky - high not because of green energy, but because we’re addicted to gas. Global gas markets set our prices. A war in Ukraine, a cold winter in Asia, a Saudi oil decision - all of it hits your wallet here in Britain. That’s not energy sovereignty, it’s economic masochism. If we really want to "take back control", we need to get off gas and build our own clean, green supply - onshore wind, solar, and tidal power. Homegrown energy, not hostage energy.
Farage bangs on about Britain only accounting for 1% of global carbon emissions - as if that means we should do nothing. But that’s not just a moral cop-out. It’s economic suicide. Because net zero isn’t just about polar bears and melting ice. It’s about jobs, industry, and growth - right here, right now.
Britain’s green economy is growing ten times faster than the rest of our economy. That’s not some lefty fantasy, it’s hard numbers - £80 billion a year added to GDP. Twice as many people work in green energy as in fossil fuels - and those jobs aren’t going anywhere, unlike the last drops of oil in the North Sea. They’re secure, skilled, long-term jobs. Offshore wind engineers. Heat pump installers. Battery tech developers. This is the new backbone of British industry.
And while Farage talks about deindustrialisation - he’s not wrong there - he’s got the wrong culprit. British industry wasn’t hollowed out by net zero or Keir Starmer. It was gutted by Margaret Thatcher and her “let the market decide” madness in the 80s. Her model - Farage’s model - privatised everything, sold off our assets, and let communities rot. Net zero is actually reversing that. It’s reindustrialising the UK with clean factories, green steel, electric vehicles and renewable energy hubs. Real stuff. Built here. By us.
Now, we’re also seeing some unusual suspects pile into this anti-green crusade. Kemi Badenoch is gleefully riding the Reform bandwagon. No surprise there - another Tory chasing culture war headlines over real answers. But Tony Blair? That’s different. When Blair starts echoing Farage’s scepticism about renewables and touts carbon capture like it’s some silver bullet - it’s not just baffling, it’s reckless.
Let’s remember, Blair once led us into a war based on dodgy evidence. Now he’s pushing a fantasy fix for climate change - carbon capture and storage. It’s not ready, not scalable, and certainly not cheap. It’s the new 45 - minute weapons claim. A distraction. A delay tactic. And one that gives cover to fossil fuel companies who want to keep drilling and billing while pretending they’re part of the solution.
This anti net zero rhetoric isn’t harmless debate. It’s a weapon of mass delusion. It’s being used to roll back the very policies that are creating growth, cutting bills, and making us energy independent. And if we go along with it - if we scrap net zero - it’ll make Brexit look like a paper cut.
Seriously. Nexit would hit our economy harder than leaving the EU. Why? Because while the Single Market was a big deal, the global green economy is the deal of the century. It’s where the investment is going. It’s where the jobs are. The world is decarbonising - whether we like it or not. If Britain chooses to opt out, we’re not just missing the train - we’re setting fire to the station.
And here’s the cynical genius of Farage’s play: he’s using the same tactics as Brexit. Misinformation. Division. A made-up enemy. He’s turning net zero into the new Brussels. And he’s using it to exploit very real frustrations - just like last time.
People are skint. They’re angry. They feel ignored by Westminster. And along comes Nigel with his pint, his smirk, and a simple story about how going green is costing us too much. It’s seductive. It’s wrong. And if we don’t confront it head - on, it’ll win.
We can’t counter this with dry facts and abstract climate targets. People don’t want to hear about 2050. They want to know if they’ll be able to afford their heating next winter. We’ve got to make it real. Net zero means warm homes, lower bills, better jobs and cleaner air - right now. That’s the message.
