It will have been difficult to miss the concocted outrage from left-wingers overnight after it emerged Boris made a joke about Thatcher’s transitioning of Britain from coal to lower emission energy sources on a visit:

“Look at what we’ve done already. We’ve transitioned away from coal in my lifetime. Thanks to Margaret Thatcher who closed so many coal mines [the Prime Minister then laughs] across the country where we had had a big early start and we’re now moving rapidly away from coal altogether… I thought that would get you going!”

A literal day at the coalface…

Lisa Nandy was first out of the gates to criticise the light hearted remarks, despite previously calling for Britain’s coal stations to be closed because they’re so polluting.

It's been clear for years that Britain's coal stations are so old and so polluting they would need to close over the next decade 1/3

— Lisa Nandy (@lisanandy) November 18, 2015

Keir Starmer is also furious, despite having spent months opposing a new coal mine in Cumbria as bad for the environment. Sounding like quite the Thatcherite. 

While the left may refuse to acknowledge it, Thatcher was undeniably the first eco-conscious PM. As the Guardian wrote upon her passing:

“she helped put climate change (or global warming as it was then known), acid rain and pollution on to the mainstream political map.”

She famously told the UN general assembly in 1989 “It is mankind and his activities that are changing the environment of our planet in damaging and dangerous ways. The result is that change in future is likely to be more fundamental and more widespread than anything we have known hitherto.” She then took the cause to the Tory faithful:

For some reason, Labour is less willing to acknowledge Harold Wilson’s much greater role in closing British coal mines. Greta would have been proud…

An MP has told Guido how he and his colleagues were given no forewarning by Robert Jenrick before he announced his department was going to intervene in the Cumbria coal mine project and order a fresh public inquiry. The intervention is seen by red wall MPs as the government bowing to niche, interest group public pressure, with Workington MP Mark Jenkinson last night telling the Tory MP WhatsApp group the Secretary of State has “bowed to climate terrorists”. Whatever happened to not negotiating with terrorists…

The cancellation of the project could see a loss of £165 million of private investment into the area; and adding to the political embarrassment of the intervention, Boris’s own PPS Trudy Harrison was set to be the coal mine’s constituency MP. It now appears Harrison doesn’t intend to quit as the PM’s PPS…

Away from the immediate reaction, Mark Jenkinson now tells Guido the inquiry may provide one upside insofar as the debate will now be taken away from the fraught, partisan one seen so far. The now-scuppered timing of the massive project may pull the rug from underneath the project given its private investment funding. Jenkinson also told Guido of his “shock” hearing the announcement, as he got no prior warning about the intervention, and given the process is now quasi-judicial it’ll be very difficult for him and his colleagues to now level questions at Jenrick. Not least “does the government think it’s more environmental to import coal from China rather than mining it here?”

The government needs to decide if Britain is going to be a high-value manufacturing nation or not, the pandemic showed the dangers of having little or no manufacturing capability in strategic areas. De-carbonising the economy will kill energy intensive industries dead to the benefit of China and Asia. This is pretty disastrous for the government’s promised leveling up agenda, with Jenkinson’s inbox overwhelmingly pro-mine, as well as his Facebook. At the moment he doesn’t believe this is just the government laying the groundwork to eventually u-turn and cancel the project, though Guido smells a rat…

This morning, Shadow BEIS Secretary Ed Miliband used his Andrew Marr appearance to rail against the new coal mine opening in Cumbria, saying it shouldn’t open as it undermines the UK’s ability to take a lead against climate change. Miliband’s tried a lot of rebranding over the last few years, however his coal outrage takes the biscuit, having lobbied on the industry’s behalf in parliament for over a decade:

• October 2005: “Those who have traditionally thought that coal cannot be an answer to our energy needs should approach this question with an open mind. My constituents want coal to be given a chance in the forthcoming examination of energy policy”
• July 2015, Miliband criticised the Government for not providing taxpayer subsidy to coal: “I find it frustrating when new nuclear is given a multi-billion-pound bill payer subsidy, but a few million more for a coal mine is seen as an option that either cannot be afforded or should not be entertained”
• July 2015, Miliband criticised the Government for introducing the climate change levy after it led to the closure of a coal mine in his constituency: “The levying of the tax at point of sale rather than when the coal is burned means that the energy companies have an incentive to stockpile coal, and they did so in advance of April to avoid the higher levy. Companies had huge stockpiles of coal and orders at Hatfield dried up”
• July 2015, Miliband claimed it was not “morally right” to push on with the early closure of coal mines: “The miners feel they have had the rug pulled from under them. I do not believe the decision makes economic or industrial sense, and nor is it morally right. I believe the Minister should think again”

Miliband now being considered one of Labour’s best media performers should be seen as the canary in the coal mine for the party’s election prospects…

The UK’s coal usage has fallen to a low not seen in 250 years, with only 8 million tonnes used in 2019 – similar levels seen in 1769 – a fall of 83% in just five years. Extinction Rebellion activists seemingly refuse to recognise the UK is leading the world on this. As Cameron once promised: vote blue, go green… 

Hat-tip: @DrSimEvans

In news that will annoy green groups more than it should, under the Tories Britain has been running coal-free for two months. The transition away from coal has been remarkably rapid following the establishment of the Powering Past Coal Alliance by the UK and Canada. Long before any Extinction Rebellion protests…

Last night’s BBC News, however, chose to imply that this success was due to wind turbines – despite the same segment showing just 1.7% of UK generation was coming from them. In reality their footage confirmed that gas and nuclear power are the two largest energy sources for the UK – forms of energy that are both much cleaner than coal and are regularly campaigned against by confused environmentalists. Without Green campaigners’ opposition to nuclear power perhaps this target could have been achieved earlier…

UPDATE:  Unite the union is balloting over strike action in protest at the closure of the Drax coal power plant next year.