Spectator Briefing

Rarely a week goes by in politics without a reminder of the Conservatives’ ambitions to hit net zero by 2050. But how well do they understand the path to get there? Amidst the barrage of funding announcements and energy strategies, there remain outstanding questions about the road ahead – and one of the most persistent is around the role of hydrogen. To its advocates, this abundant chemical element could be the key to weaning large economies off their dependence on natural gas, providing a reliable and greener power source that can be deployed at scale. Yet to its doubters, the hydrogen dream remains inefficient and impractical – rendering it a costly distraction from the real decarbonisation challenge.

When it comes to renewable energy, the ambitions of recent Conservatives have verged on the superlative: from one prime minister’s infamous pledge to turn Britain into the ‘Saudi Arabia of wind power’ to a seemingly exponential explosion of green jobs across the country (half a million by 2030, according to Grant Shapps). The green transition has launched quite the rhetorical arms race. Can the UK really emerge as a world-leader in renewables? That was the question on the agenda as The Spectator convened a panel of experts, industry voices and politicians at this year’s energy summit.

Britain’s asylum system is in need of reform. At the end of last year, there were 166,261 asylum applications awaiting a decision – a 200 per cent increase from just three years ago. As a result of slow decision making, there’s a bottleneck in the system, meaning normal asylum accommodation is full and £5.6 million is being spent every day on hotel accommodation for asylum seekers. New plans announced in March also mean asylum-seekers currently in hotels will be moved to disused army barracks and barges.  The Prime Minister recognised the degree of public concern in his pledge to stop dangerous journeys being made across the Channel in small boats. But the crossings are just one symptom of an asylum system which is struggling to meet its obligations.

Back in April – as much of the country’s attention remained on Rishi Sunak's famously generous pandemic support measures – the Chancellor gave a speech to an online gathering of fintech entrepreneurs. ‘Our vision is for a more open, greener and more technologically advanced financial services sector,’ he declared, promising that his Treasury would seek to make Britain the best home possible for fintech disruptors. Sunak was, of course, hardly the first Tory chancellor to sing the praises of the City of London and its financial innovators. But do politicians really understand the rapidly-changing fintech market? And have their warm words made any difference?

Not long ago, Brexit used to dominate every debate. Now, it’s climate change. Political discussions can’t take place these days without some reference to the Government’s big mission: the legally-binding commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Britain was one of the first countries in the world to sign up, and we did so with very little discussion about what it would involve. Britain’s chairmanship of the United Nations climate change summit in Glasgow (COP26) is likely to see Boris Johnson’s government position itself as a global champion of the agenda. But what will it mean? At what cost? And to what purpose? At The Spectator boardroom, we gathered together a group of people over lunch to discuss the project and its implications.