The leader of a Reform UK-led council has vowed to “lie in front of bulldozers” to stop Ed Miliband’s net zero projects in the area.
Several “nationally significant infrastructure projects” are planned for Lincolnshire, including solar farms and a corridor of pylons between Grimsby and Walpole, in Norfolk.
Reform UK has been vocal about its opposition to net zero plans, which are being backed by the energy secretary Ed Miliband.
While local councils do not have the power to stop such projects, Sean Matthews, the leader of Lincolnshire County Council, has promised to take drastic action to stop them going ahead in the area.
“Ed Miliband is hell-bent on destroying Lincolnshire with his energy developments… but I’m going to put my wellington boots on and lie down in front of his bulldozers,” he told The Telegraph.
“I want a better environment for my grandchildren.”
He added: “I don’t know what Ed Miliband has got against Lincolnshire, but he seems determined to turn it from a beautiful rural county to an industrial wasteland of pylons and electricity factories.
“It’s heartbreaking. About a quarter of England’s infrastructure and energy developments are being planned in Lincolnshire. It really strikes me that Ed Miliband is hell-bent on ruining our county.”
Mr Matthews, a former member of the Met Police’s elite armed royal protection squad, said that while his opposition to net zero is “genuine”, he also acknowledged it was a “vote-winner”.
Earlier this year, Mr Matthews joined Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice at a press conference in Lincolnshire, where he said he was starting a “renewables war” against Mr Miliband.
He said: “We are basically going on a renewables war against Mr Miliband and his merry band of fellows, the eco-zealots.”
Mr Tice also wrote to energy companies, urging them not to invest in the latest round of green energy contracts.
The Department for Energy Security & Net Zero said all projects are subject to rigorous planning processes, and the views of the local community must be taken into account.
Green groups have also warned that Reform should start “thinking seriously” about how to tackle climate change in the UK, and that there is “no getting away” from the need to develop the UK’s energy system.
A recent poll found that more than half of Reform UK voters approve of their pensions being invested in green energy despite the party launching a “renewables war”.
A survey by YouGov found 79 per cent of voters overall are in favour of their pensions being invested in renewable energy, including 53 per cent of Reform UK supporters.
The findings have led to claims that politicians who oppose investment in the sector “have grossly misjudged” voters’ views.
