Onward is hiring!
We are growing our team here at Onward, and are looking for exceptional candidates to fill the following positions. Please do share with anyone who might be interested.
- Head of Net Zero, to lead our Getting to Zero research programme. Link
- Head of Science and Innovation, to lead a new research programme focused on making the UK a leading science superpower. Link
- Researchers and Senior Researchers, to work on science and technology, net zero, and levelling up. Link
Upcoming event
Manufacturing is a key component of the UK economy and harnessing the full potential of the sector will be essential as we undergo periods of advancement and innovation.
The event will consider how we can use technology and digital transformation to rethink the capabilities of UK manufacturing. It is kindly supported by Vodafone.
You can sign up for the event here.
Onward Note
Last week, Kingswood MP Chris Skidmore established a ‘Net Zero Support Group’ of Conservative MPs. Mr Skidmore, who signed the UK’s 2050 net zero commitment into law as Energy and Clean Growth Minister back in 2019, has created the group in order to “demonstrate and maintain Conservative support for net zero carbon emissions and policies needed to deliver this”.
It is remarkable that such a step is even necessary. In 2019, every Conservative MP was elected on a manifesto pledging to “lead the global fight against climate change by delivering on our world-leading target of Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050”. Voters’ concern about climate change has never been higher. Indeed, Onward polling last year revealed that two-thirds (67%) of voters think the Government should be doing more to tackle climate change. Having trailed low down voters’ concerns a decade ago, net zero is consistently a top-three issue for voters, including for Conservative voters.
But it is not just that the Conservatives risk being left behind on a key issue. It is also that environmentalism is inherently conservative in nature. Leaving the natural environment in a better state than we inherited is a central tenet of centre right philosophy, as everyone from Roger Scruton to Lord Selwyn Gummer have argued. As Margaret Thatcher said in 1988, “the core of Conservative philosophy and of the case for protecting the environment are the same”. Thatcher was the first prominent world leader to turn the spotlight onto climate change and since then the UK has led the international community in decarbonisation.
Backing away from this progress would therefore be a mistake – and Chris Skidmore is right to want to defend his manifesto pledge. But the increasingly-loud sceptics on the Conservative benches do have a point – the net zero transition must be handled well to avoid damaging voters’ interests and Conservative votes.
While voters support net zero, they remain wary of how much it will cost them, as Onward found in our polling and focus groups last year. There is therefore a premium on practical net zero policy ideas which do not overburden voters and enable them to retain choice over how they live their lives and run their homes. Policies which heap costs on taxpayers or enforce drastic behavioural changes will risk the fragile public consensus on environmental action, which is essential if net zero is to be a realistic goal. The spectre of Nigel Farage campaigning against net zero costs should worry the centre right.
The Conservatives have a proud record seeking to conserve our natural environment and protect future generations. They should not squander it. But they should tread carefully.
Alex Luke, Senior Researcher, Getting to Zero research programme
Quick Links
 thetimes.co.uk In 2010 The Economist published a front page depicting David Cameron with a warlike Union Jack mohican under the headline: “Radical Britain – The West’s most …. |
 ft.com Since the club broke away from their peers in 1992, foreign players and money have flooded i |
 thetimes.co.uk More than two centuries ago, the UK took its first steps towards outpacing its rivals and becoming a global manufacturing superpower, |
