From the Ground Up – Why I Called for the Repeal of the Climate Change Act 2008

By , A concerned citizen, Conisbrough Resident & Campaigner

A Citizen’s Voice in BirminghamToday, at the Reform UK conference in Birmingham, a motion I submitted as a concerned citizen was carried:

To repeal the Climate Change Act 2008.

It wasn’t just a procedural motion. It was a call to arms against the destruction of our countryside, our communities, and our sovereignty.

Proposing the motion was Cllr Rachel Reed.

who told the hall that this was about giving the British people back hope: “hope for energy security, hope for affordability, and hope that Britain will stand tall again.”For too long, energy policy has been dictated not by common sense, but by ideology.

How the Climate Act Destroyed Our Land

Seventeen years ago, Westminster passed the Climate Change Act 2008. It sounded noble on paper , but in reality, it has:

Enshrined Net Zero in law, making it impossible for Parliament to adapt policy to reality.

Empowered unelected bodies like the Climate Change Committee, which dictate energy policy without a single vote cast.

Triggered a solar and battery sprawl across Yorkshire and beyond:

Fenwick, Whitestone, Marr Farm, Thorpe Marsh, and dozens more schemes around our beautiful county’s tearing up greenbelt and BMV farmland.

Burdened households and businesses with soaring bills, standing charges, and levies to subsidise intermittent renewables.In Conisbrough, Doncaster, and across South Yorkshire, we know the truth:

Net Zero is not saving the planet. It is destroying our land, our food security, and our communities.

Rachel Reed’s Support – A Turning Point

When  Rachel Reed proposed this motion, she wasn’t speaking as a career politician , she was speaking as one of us. Her words gave strength to what ordinary people have been saying for years:

That energy security matters more than ideology.

That affordability matters more than abstract carbon targets.

That land, soil, and food security must come before subsidies for developers.

The hall erupted when she made it clear: this is about putting Britain and its people first.

What Repealing the Act Means

Repealing the Climate Change Act is about taking back control of our energy system and our countryside.

It would:

1. End legally binding carbon budgets that no one voted for.

2. Abolish the Climate Change Committee, returning power to Parliament.

3. Halt the industrialisation of our countryside with solar megaprojects and speculative battery farms.

4. Redirect investment into real solutions: British-made nuclear SMRs, rooftop solar film like Power Roll, and proper grid renewal.

This isn’t climate denial. It’s climate realism and it’s the only way to protect our land, our sovereignty, and our children’s future.

From Local Struggle to National Movement

When Rachel Reed first stood up in Conisbrough to speak against solar projects on farmland, I never imagined it would reach the floor of a national political conference.But today it did.The repeal motion is proof that ordinary people , farmers, residents, campaigners , can change the course of national policy.

It sends a message:

we will no longer be dictated to by unelected quangos and foreign treaties. We demand energy security, affordability, and the right to protect our countryside.

A Call to Action

This is just the beginning. Motions are words on paper. What matters now is action:

Speak up locally:

Join consultations, write objections, challenge councillors.

Expose the costs: Show neighbours how their bills are rising to pay for projects that don’t deliver.

Protect the land: Stand with farmers, residents, and communities defending food and soil.

Seventeen years of the Climate Act has left Britain poorer, weaker, and darker.

It’s time to stand tall again.

📢 Share this blog, talk to your neighbours, and let’s make sure Westminster hears us: repeal the Climate Change Act, stop the destruction of our land, and build an energy policy that works for Britain.