Leaked Government Document Reveals Devastating Cost of Net Zero—Is the UK Facing an Economic Crisis?

Net Zero sceptics are feeling vindicated after a leaked government document revealed just how much the UK’s green agenda could cost — and it’s not pretty. The confidential Whitehall impact assessment, exposed by The Sun, has left Downing Street scrambling and critics demanding answers.

The report, marked “official sensitive” and drawn up by civil servants, doesn’t pull its punches. It warns that the rush to hit Net Zero by 2050 could trigger a sudden economic shock, devalue investments, and hurt the very people it’s meant to protect — the poorest households.

MPs wasted no time calling it the smoking gun. Shadow Minister Greg Smith didn’t hold back, telling The Sun’s Harry Cole: “The cost of Net Zero is actually unbearable, particularly for the poorest in our society, and it’s going to cause an economic downturn. Yet at every turn, we hear people like Ed Miliband saying it’s essential for growth.”

He went on to say that the leak “proves what we all knew all along.” That sentiment was echoed by Tory business spokesman Andrew Griffith, who asked bluntly: “Is taking a wrecking ball to the UK economy a price worth paying? Labour needs to come clean.”

In the Commons, Reform deputy leader Richard Tice accused the government of keeping the public in the dark, claiming ministers had “suppressed the report” and demanding its immediate release.

And just when things couldn’t get worse, Cabinet Minister Lucy Powell slipped up in an interview, accidentally suggesting Net Zero would help “lower jobs” — a gaffe that only fuelled the fire for critics already up in arms.

Downing Street quickly went into damage control, trying to brush it off as a mere “summary of external analysis”. But that didn’t do much to settle nerves, especially since the document was produced internally and clearly marked as sensitive.

Meanwhile, Labour’s Keir Starmer is sticking to the party line. His spokesman insisted that the green push will lead to lower bills, more jobs, and better living standards, saying: “The ambition to reach a clean power economy that delivers jobs and growth across the country will improve living standards.”

Still, with costs piling up and the economic risks becoming harder to ignore, the row over Net Zero is heating up fast. And after this leak, many are asking whether Britain can afford to keep its green promises — or if it’s time for a serious rethink.