Reform UK exists to serve its super-rich donors. And it does that partly by attacking policies that seek to tackle the global climate crisis. But unfortunately for the silver–spoon hate salesmen at Reform, a new poll clearly shows most people in Britain oppose their anti-climate agenda.

Reform and the general public are on different pages

The Thatcherite tribute band has capitalised on the Conservative Party’s collapse — and the hostile right-wing takeover in Labour — largely by focusing people’s attention on immigration. But racist scaremongering is just a dangerous distraction. Part of its real agenda, which we don’t talk about enough, is to please super-rich donors with interests in fossil fuels and finance. Using their wealth and influence, they push onto the ordinary communities voting for them climate-change denialism and promote dangerous industries like fracking. One key foe for Reform is the global effort to limit carbon emissions (‘Net Zero‘).

The simple fact, however, is that 60% of Brits support Net Zero, and only 25% oppose it. For Reform supporters, it’s a big issue. But for everyone else, it simply isn’t.

/ How far does the public support net zero?

Support: 60%Oppose: 25%

Net support by partyGreen: +81Lib Dem: +67Lab: +64Con: +11Reform: -44

Results link in replies pic.twitter.com/vyWhbmjyGy

— YouGov (@YouGov) November 11, 2025

And that’s not the only problem for Reform. Because people overwhelmingly want:

More tree-planting (91%)“Government subsidies to make your home more energy-efficient” (82%)“Tougher regulation on the amount of packaging for products sold online and in shops” (81%)More investment in British production to reduce the “environmental cost of importing” (79%)More “taxes for companies who produce substantial carbon emissions” (73%)A ban on “all single-use plastic” (71%)“Strict rules for how energy-efficient homes are” (65%)The introduction of “a Frequent Flyer Levy (raising flight prices for frequent flyers)” (52%)A ban on all non-renewable energy production (51%)

More regulations and taxes for big polluters and big business to stop them destroying the planet in pursuit of obscene wealth for a tiny billionaire class? More government investment and action to reduce energy bills? Reform’s Thatcherites must be feeling very uncomfortable right about now.

Combine climate and cost of living concerns!

People in Britain clearly care about the environment. But understandably, they also care about their immediate wellbeing. The YouGov poll leaves no doubt that “the cost of living is a greater priority than reducing carbon emissions”.

When the super-rich, their media outlets, and politicians aren’t cynically pushing immigration to the forefront of public discourse, the most pressing matters at the top of ordinary people’s minds is the economy and healthcare. And while there are so many reasons to dislike Keir Starmer’s government, its poor performance on these specific issues is why so many 2024 Labour voters are really leaving the party.

Reform, meanwhile, offers nothing positive on those fronts. It wants to cut taxes for the rich and deepen NHS privatisation. Reform scapegoats poor people from other countries, blaming them for the cost of living crisis and deterioration of public services. But it really represents a continuation of the decades of destructive neoliberal rule that have caused these problems by cutting public spending, privatising public resources, freeing companies from regulations, and turning citizens into competitors rather than communities (all in service of the super-rich). In fact, Reform wants to waste even more public money with its opposition to Net Zero and mass deportation plan.

The Green Industrial Revolution that Jeremy Corbyn argued for in 2017 and 2019 really tapped into people’s desire for economic wellbeing, proper funding of public services, and environmental action. Today, Green Party leader Zack Polanski has also taken up that fight, insisting on the connection between extreme wealth inequality, super-rich profiteering, and environmental destruction. This is clearly a winning strategy, because the Greens have quickly become Reform’s main challenger.

The task now is to keep emphasising just how out of touch Reform’s posh-boys are with the interests of ordinary people in Britain.

Featured image via the Canary.

By Ed Sykes

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