Rishi Sunak must not retreat from climate pledges, says top Tory mayor

Andy Street, seen as most powerful Conservative outside London, vows to fight party's retreat from climate pledges

The most powerful Conservative outside London has warned he will not hesitate to stand up to the party should it attempt to retreat from its pledge to tackle the climate crisis.

There are already serious concerns that Rishi Sunak and his advisers are using green policies as a political dividing line with Labour in an attempt to revive the party's fortunes. The prime minister recently backed maxing out" oil and gas reserves, while cabinet minister Michael Gove said net zero should not become a religious crusade". Tory MPs have also demanded a delay to the ban on petrol car sales by 2030.