Boris Johnson will this week say Britain must not give up on investing in green energy in favour of short-term fixes for the cost of living crisis.
In a farewell message to safeguard his legacy, the Prime Minister is expected to say Britain is in a strong position to tackle the energy crises of the future and can pursue net zero at the same time as supporting those struggling with their heating costs.
His comments will be seen as a warning to Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak to maintain his ambition to build a new nuclear reactor every year and secure a five-fold increase in offshore wind power by 2030, accounting for almost half the UK’s total electricity consumption.
It also comes amid a continuing backlash amongst party members over Mr Johnson’s removal as Prime Minister, with suggestions that many have “seller’s remorse”.
A YouGov poll last week showed that, if the Conservative leadership election were a three-way fight, Mr Johnson would get twice as many votes among Tory members as either of his rivals. He polled 46% versus Ms Truss on 24% and Mr Sunak on 23%.
A government source told the Telegraph: “Boris is passionate about the energy strategy. There is a desire to say something this week about how everything we have done has kept us in a much better position in the medium and long term, through investing in nuclear and wind.
“All of the work in renewable energy will make sure that in the medium and long term we will be more self-reliant and that will ease costs for consumers.
“Throughout the years, from Cop26 to the energy strategy and now with the cost of living challenges, it’s a real priority. We have the domestic infrastructure and technology to be more resilient and self-reliant to manage these challenges.
“We have shown over the course of this year that we can both focus on helping people in the immediate future but also invest for the medium and long term future so we are not compromised like this again.
“Clearly we need to help people cope with bills this winter, but there is an even bigger need to address supply side and ensure we have homegrown affordable energy for people and businesses as soon as we can. Too many governments have ducked this.”