Starmer has been gearing the nation up today for a “painful” budget this October, once again dodging the question of wealth taxes, particularly a capital gains tax raid. He insists that “broader shoulders should bear the heaviest burdens” to fill the so-called black hole. Meanwhile, businesses and landlords are scrambling to sell up to avoid the looming raid, and green energy investors are hitting pause on their plans, spooked by the prospect of Reeves’ Autumn Statement on the eve of Halloween…

With capital gains tax raids in sight, private investors are getting cold feet. NatPower UK’s CEO, who promised to pump £10 billion into UK green energy, says investors are stalling due to the expected tax hikes:

“I’m talking with investors and they are definitely considering and waiting for decisions to be made so that they can make their own decisions. For infrastructure investors in the energy transition, it is the capital gains tax that is particularly relevant.”

Labour’s been pushing the narrative that their costly GB Energy plan will be bankrolled by the private sector, sparing taxpayers the cheque to reach Net Zero, though as Guido’s flagged before, the numbers don’t add up. Labour cutting their nose despite their face on capital gains tax could force them into yet another policy U-turn. If private investors bolt, “working people” will be left footing the bill to meet Net Zero targets—or more likely, the 2030 goal will be quietly shelved. The latter might be the better option…

National Grid executives are sounding the alarm, predicting blackouts in the South East by 2028 due to the transition to reliance on renewable energy. This dire warning comes as no surprise to Guido, who has long questioned Labour’s reckless rush towards their utopian Net Zero dream…

Blame for this looming crisis is laid squarely at the feet of the erratic wind and solar power schemes that Labour so fervently champions. Electricity supply from renewables is set to skyrocket this decade under Labour’s push to make the power grid Net Zero by 2030. Industry leaders also point to a set of outdated market rules that are only making the bottlenecks worse. More red tape to go green over growth…

Electricity System Operator (ESO) executives are reportedly deeply “worried about keeping the lights on” in the South East with a source telling the Telegraph that “there will be blackouts in the South East by 2028”.  Ed Miliband’s dash to decarbonise and rely on wind and solar plants – which are being mostly built in the North – making it difficult to transmit power across the country. With ongoing strikes and the threat of blackouts, are Labour taking us back to the 70s?

UPDATE: An ESO spokesman responds:

“We refute this categorically. We are not forecasting blackouts. As a prudent system operator we regularly assess the future challenges to decarbonising Great Britain’s electricity system whilst maintaining security of supply and managing cost. The ESO’s analysis in respect of zonal pricing supports the strategic build out and operation of Britain’s electricity system in a manner that is efficient and ensures that all networks and assets are utilized [sic] to their maximum. The ESO’s analysis does not show there will be blackouts because of current market arrangements. It indicates that we will need to continue to use our operational toolkit to balance the electricity system on a national basis. However, we expect that reforms to the wholesale electricity market, the accelerated delivery of electricity networks, and delivery of new generation and storage, will create a more efficient electricity system for the future.”

Guido thinks he means by “zonal pricing” that prices will have to go up in the South East if we don’t want power cuts.

Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson was asked this morning on GB News how many billions Labour’s Net Zero plan would cost. She refused to answer the question, instead spinning the costly plan:

“The answer is how we move to a position of decarbonising our economy, creating more jobs, is through private investment, not just public money. So you can invest relatively modest sums of public money and that brings in real returns.”

It comes after The Telegraph leaked a recording of Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones admitting that their energy plans would cost “hundreds of billions” of pounds. He dubbed the original £28 billion black hole – already an eye-watering figure – a “tiny” amount compared to the reality. It’s clear they’re hiding the true cost of the plans, which will ultimately be shouldered by taxpayers. Labour will do as they always do: tax and spend, tax and spend…

Sainsbury’s boss Simon Roberts has fired a warning shot against Net Zero, cautioning against the eco-crusade in agriculture. Roberts sounded the alarm over the government’s green policies to make farming more “sustainable”, arguing they might uproot Britain’s food independence, leaving the UK dependent on foreign imports. Writing in The Times today, Roberts’ sowed the seeds of doubt:

“The current approach risks inadvertently reducing the level of UK production. This will affect capacity here and lead to more ­imported food — which of course is less sustainable.”

More (green) tape around farming will only lead to a lack of production and angry farmers. Farmers have already ploughed through the streets of Europe over green policies affecting their industry, and it may only be a matter of time until British farmers do the same. Go green, go broke…

The farmers’ protests against the EU’s extreme new green policies, which drastically hurt farms’ finances have escalated. A huge column of tractors has choked the bloc’s capital, Brussels, and chaos in the streets outside the EU’s HQ has brought the political heart of Europe to a standstill. Von der Leyen has caved in to some demands, earlier this month scrapping a demand to reduce farming-related emissions like nitrogen by a third, along with others. She may need to listen to more of the farmers’ demands if she’s serious in her bid for re-election…

As protesting farmers take to the streets across Europe, the EU is finally caving in and rolling back on its net zero demands. Ahead of the release of its 2040 emissions reduction plan, the bloc is dropping key elements to placate protestors. Impending bids for re-election can be quite persuasive…

Ursula von der Leyen has now said the EU’s plan to halve pesticide use is a “symbol of polarisation” and should be dropped. Meanwhile, the EU is scrapping a demand to reduce farming-related emissions like nitrogen by a third, as well as its instruction to the public to eat less meat. Rest assured its other bonkers net zero requirements will still be present in full…