Reform UK has made a big song and dance about how renewable energy is a ‘con’, promising to clamp down on green schemes and even tax those who use or host solar panels and wind farms.
But here’s where it gets awkward: one of their own MPs is making money from the very thing the party wants to punish.
It turns out that Rupert Lowe, Reform MP for Great Yarmouth, owns a company that installs solar panels – and has even kitted out his own 500-acre Cotswolds farm with them.
Bit of a contradiction, no?
Reform’s green crackdown
Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice held a press conference this week to lay out the party’s anti-renewable agenda, blaming green policies for the “deindustrialisation of Britain.”
Among the headline-grabbing policies?
- A windfall tax on wind, solar, and biomass energy.
- Blocking farmers who install solar panels from claiming inheritance tax relief.
- Forcing energy firms to put power cables underground instead of using pylons.
According to Tice, energy firms and even the National Grid are “on notice” – because Reform is coming for them.
The inconvenient truth: Reform’s own MP loves solar panels
While Tice was bashing renewables, Rupert Lowe’s mechanical and electrical contracting firm, Lowe & Oliver, was busy installing solar panels and battery storage systems for customers – including on his own farm.
His stables, which house racehorse trainer Fergal O’Brien, now generate and store 30% of their annual energy needs, helping to cut bills.
Lowe isn’t shy about his business dealings either, telling The Guardian:
“I’m proud of my business interests. MPs should have real-life experience to inform their actions.”
Apparently, that doesn’t apply to Reform’s general stance on renewables.
Reform’s plan to make green energy more expensive
Beyond Lowe’s personal interests, Reform’s crackdown on renewables is raising eyebrows.
Tice insists that renewable subsidies are pushing up energy bills, and says Reform will impose special taxes on the industry to claw back costs.
“This is the best way we can help bring bills down and lower the cost of living,” Tice claimed.
He also had a warning for farmers:
“If you sell out to the renewables industry, you won’t get inheritance tax relief. That’s only fair.”
In other words, pick a side – food production or green energy – because Reform doesn’t want you doing both.
Awkward questions Reform doesn’t want to answer
Reform’s big promises to “fix” Britain’s energy market seem to involve more red tape, more taxes, and more penalties – especially for farmers and businesses investing in green energy.
A Tory source put it bluntly:
“Reform abandoning Net Zero is like a plumber finding a leak and deciding to burn the house down.”
They also pointed out that offshore wind jobs are a major employer in Reform’s strongholds – making the party’s stance even more puzzling.
So, Reform wants to tax renewables, even though one of its own MPs profits from them? That’s one way to run a party.
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