I’m saving families £10k and rejecting ridiculous net zero calls for meat taxes and seven bins, Rishi Sunak says

RISHI Sunak today vowed to reject ridiculous pleas from "credible" climate organisations to impose meat taxes and seven bins on British households.

And the PM insisted his mega net zero rethink, announced yesterday in Downing Street, will save hard-up households £10,000.

Speaking on Radio 4, Mr Sunak pledged to put the lifestyle preferences and needs of families above calls from out-of-touch advisory boards.

The UK's independent Climate Change Committee has lobbied ministers to force an "accelerated shift in our diets away from meat and dairy".

And they want to impose "ride sharing solutions" on homes across the country, which could require a ban on privately owned vehicles.

There have also been proposals in Commons legislation to force households to use SEVEN different bins.

Mr Sunak told Radio 4: "These are all things that have been raised by very credible people about ways to meet our net zero obligations, alongside the very substantive changes that we've announced when it comes to the transition on electric vehicles and how they heat their homes."

Yesterday the PM hailed The Sun's Give Us A Brake campaign as he ripped up expensive net zero policies.

In a major speech he confirmed the hated ban on new petrol and diesel cars will be delayed by five years until 2035.

And he announced that the deadline to replace boilers with £10,000 heat pumps will be postponed.

The PM promised he is still entirely committed to achieving net zero by 2050 - but without burdening poor families in the process.

This morning he said: "This is absolutely about doing what I believe to be in the longterm interest of the country.

"I want to change the direction of our country, I want to build a better future for our children.

"You don't do that unless you're willing to change politics and I'm going to do things differently."

Scores of Tory MPs rallied behind the PM following his announcement.

But some, including ex-PM Boris Johnson and former Cop26 President Alok Sharma, slammed the move.

Zac Goldsmith, a failed Tory London mayoral candidate, said changing net zero policies was unjustifiable and demanded: "We need an election. Now."

This morning Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch hit out at critics.

She told LBC: "There are lots of Conservative MPs who are speaking very positively about this.

"Zac Goldsmith is somebody who cares very much about the environment, he is a friend of mine, but the fact is he has way more money than pretty much everyone in the UK.

"This is not how we make decisions - we need to make decisions based on what the facts are, and the facts are energy costs are rising, the facts are as I said last week, you look at the economic challenge that China is creating all around the world, electric vehicles rely on Chinese batteries, the supply chain post-pandemic is changing."