CAR26

Background

CAR26 is a UK climate science denial group that formed shortly before the COP26 climate summit held in Glasgow, Scotland. It claims to call for “informed rational analysis of Climate matters with an irreverent satirical spin – poking fun and calling out hypocrisy”. The group’s tagline is “Climate. Analysis. Reason”.¹

CAR26 was officially registered as a company involved in “market research and public opinion polling” in September 2021 by Lois Perry, a former associate at public relations firm 6 Hillgrove, where she was listed as an employee until December 2021.² ³ ⁴ Perry is the director and sole shareholder of CAR26. Perry was also elected the leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) on May 13, 2024,⁵ but stepped down after spending 34 days in the role.⁶

Perry was formerly the South East representative of the Reclaim UK party, led by actor Laurence Fox.⁷

In January 2024, Perry spoke on GB News about running to be leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), and stated that while climate change is happening, she believes “it’s not man-made”, adding: “Even if it was, is that necessarily a bad thing?” Perry also claimed that “global greening” from increased carbon dioxide has “led to increased agricultural output”, and that “anti net zero is a good way of describing the UKIP policy”.⁸

6 Hillgrove’s clients have included the National Lottery, Aldi, Little Chef and the Big Issue.⁹ The company, headed by Richard Hillgrove, reportedly Perry’s ex-husband, has previously worked with environmentally-friendly companies, such as SaveMoneyCutCarbon and Naked Energy, as well as high-carbon clients like Indago Petroleum and Air Berlin.¹⁰

The group’s main campaign is for the UK to hold a referendum on whether the country should retain its 2050 net zero target.¹¹ CAR26 commissioned a poll on the issue that was covered on the front page of the Telegraph in October 2021 and backs a petition to Parliament, started by an individual named Niall Warry, calling for the same.¹²

The outlet openDemocracy noted that CAR26’s website was being “powered by Blue Sky”, a reference to a communications company called Blue Sky Strategy run by a number of individuals involved in the pro-Brexit campaign, including Rebecca Ryan, director of the “Defund the BBC” campaign and a former colleague of Vote Leave’s former chief technology officer, Thomas Borwick.¹³ ¹⁴ The mention of “Blue Sky” appears to have since been deleted from the CAR26 website.

The organisation’s symbol is a sunflower, representing its “lovable mascot Ambassador Seeotu”. According to the website, Seeotu, which has its own Twitter account, “represents the CO2 folk of Planet Earth and has a cheeky dry wit as CAR26’s Court Jester”.¹⁵

CAR26 also runs a campaign called “Black Cabs Matter”, which opposes green transport policies in London and is supported by Conservative Assembly member Keith Prince and former Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik.¹⁶ 6 Hillgrove PR, co-founded by Perry and Hillgrove, is listed as the contact for the campaign.¹⁷ The campaign is also run by former Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik’s Transport Reality Group, and FairFuelUK, a haulage industry-funded lobby group with ties to the Net Zero Scrutiny Group of MPs opposing climate action.

Stance on Climate Change

The homepage of the campaign’s website states that “Everyone accepts that the climate changes” but lists “key issues worthy of attention”, including: “Is CO2 a significant factor in global warming?” and “What are the good and bad impacts of any global warming?”¹⁸

The campaign has also claimed that carbon dioxide is “essential to all life” and that its “welcome growth has greened our planet saving countless human and other lives”. It continues: “When talking heads see no positives from gentle warming it is a warning signal that their minds are as closed as those of religious fanatics.”

CAR26 has also suggested that teaching children about the dangers of climate change and encouraging them to take part in activism is “borderline child abuse”.

The campaign has also claimed that a “decade of paused warming” means that “we can safely freeze immediately all carbon-related measures”.

CAR26 Director Lois Perry has tweeted that climate change is a “scam” and that “there is no climate emergency”, arguing that “We need Fuel Freedom and a Net Zero Referendum”.¹⁹ She has also tweeted that net zero is “net stupid” and that “2.7 million people in Europe can’t afford to turn the heating on in their homes” because of “Climate Death Cultists”.²⁰ ²¹

Perry was quoted in the Telegraph in October 2021 saying: “We must not let political consensus drive us into carbon poverty. Let the people take control of the wheel.”²²

In an August 2022 interview with Peter Cardwell on TalkTV, Perry said: “I do not believe that man-made climate change is a thing, I really don’t. As I say, we’ve had medieval warming periods, we’ve had the Roman warming period in this country. We’ve had Hippopotamuses in the Thames. Come on, do you really think that somebody using their hair spray or their hair dryer is making any difference? It’s ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous”.²³

Funding

CAR26 asks for donations from its supporters on its website but has not disclosed any larger funding sources. Supporters are encouraged to buy a membership pack for £26, which includes a Seeotu mascot toy, a sunflower badge and a brooch.²⁴

Key People

Lois Perry – Director.

Actions

May 13, 2024

Perry was elected as the leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP).²⁵

In a video Perry made thanking UKIP members for electing her as leader, Perry said that “we are fighting a woke mind virus that stems from communism”, that “we must completely extract ourselves from net stupid, net zero”, and that “we must tackle the rising tide of Islamic extremism in the UK”. She added that UKIP’s “focus” will be “future, family, food”.²⁶

January 28, 2024

February 25, 2023

In a GB News debate titled ‘Is net zero to blame for supermarket shortages?’, CAR26 director Lois Perry argued that renewable energy was the reason for the UK’s shortage of tomatoes.

Perry said the price of “everything is going up because of this renewables scam.” She continued: “We’re making our grid intermittent by having to rely on these renewable energies by law and so therefore we’re pushing the price of all of our fuel up.”

She also stated that “Net zero as an ideology isn’t a creeping slow thing … it’s actually a revolutionary thing that wants to completely annihilate what most of us take for granted as our way of life.”

In the debate, Perry voiced her opposition to the government’s moratorium on fracking which she called “absolutely ridiculous.”

When another guest on the panel suggested that other European countries with more stringent net zero targets were still able to stock tomatoes in supermarkets, Perry said, “Well they might be hot,” asserting that in the UK “We haven’t had any warming for 10 years unfortunately.”²⁸

December 21, 2022

Appearing in a GB News discussion about low-emissions zoning plans in London and elsewhere, CAR26 director Lois Perry said the measures were “completely insane” and were “about restriction of movement” and “the annihilation of commerce”.²⁹

Perry called London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) – which prevents highly polluting vehicles from entering into a large area surrounding central London – a conspiracy orchestrated by Sadiq Khan to control the movements of Londoners, or a “climate lockdown in everything but name”.

Perry later refuted the premise that the ULEZ plan was designed to combat asthma worsened by air pollution, saying: “this whole thing about the ULEZ zones being about health and all of that, that’s rubbish.”

She continued by suggesting that asthma figures had been fabricated to justify ULEZ plans, claiming that “they [the Mayor of London’s office] hadn’t thought that one through before they came up with their nonsense modelling,” adding that “it shows you they’re a bit thick at county hall.”

Perry also argued that proposals to implement universal basic income are a conspiracy to increase reliance on the state in which “you have to be a good girl and boy or you’ll have your money turned off.”

December 6, 2022

In an interview with CAR26’s Lois Perry, GB News presenter Mark Dolan described Oxford’s traffic reduction scheme as “an assault on human liberty” and suggested that opposing the scheme was “a hill to die on”.³⁰

In response, Perry alluded to the “climate lockdown” conspiracy theory, suggesting that Oxford’s traffic reduction scheme was related to communist China, saying:

“It’s quite well documented and quite well known that the Chinese communist party makes huge donations to top universities and actually pays for whole colleges, some of them are completely owned by the CCP now […] Jeremy Hunt’s married to somebody who gets a cheque every week from the CCP.”

Dolan then added: “We set a precedent when we shut the country down for three weeks […] and that was the point of no return wasn’t it, it took three weeks to destroy Britain really.”

November 27, 2022

Appearing on GB News, CAR26 director Lois Perry claimed that there is a clear case for a referendum on net zero, and that 70 percent of people would “vote against net zero policies in the referendum.”³¹

She said: “people are annoyed and don’t feel they’ve been consulted and they want to have a say. This is much bigger than Brexit even.”

Perry later called for more “debate” on climate change in the media. She said: “The BBC have got a policy to never ever discuss anything to do with climate change that doesn’t have the premise completely 100 percent that it’s caused by man and is man-made. That’s disgusting.”

November 26, 2022

The Telegraph reported that a poll, commissioned by CAR26 on public attitudes towards a referendum on net zero, found that 44 percent of respondents were in favour of a referendum, as part of the group’s wider campaign for a referendum on net zero.³²

August 30, 2022

In a appearance on GB News discussing the possibility of pubs raising their prices due to rising energy bills, Perry argued: “the customers need to know this is nothing to do with the war in Ukraine, this is nothing to do with anything apart from their own government’s net-stupid policies. As long as they realise that, then that’s the main thing; this is nothing to do with anything else”.³³

Perry continued: “I was with Lord Frost today and I actually put the question to him, you know, when you’ve got 70% of Tory voters that want a pause and review, at least, of net zero, what on earth is Liz Truss thinking potentially putting Kwasi Kwarteng in as chancellor? I mean, he’s a net-zero fanatic […] we really need Liz Truss to scrap net zero don’t we. But the Kwasi Kwarteng thing, it does worry me because he’s a fanatic, he’s surrounded by fanatics as well”.

Perry added: “Lord Frost is not really into the net zero thing at all, at all, but you know, he has to be careful what he says.”

August 24, 2022

In an interview with Nigel Farage on a GB News segment titled “For Frack’s Sake”, Perry said: “called me old fashioned, but I thought the Labour Party was supposed to care about working people and you know, God forbid, poor people, and they’re the people who are going to be hit by this”.³⁴

She added: “If you haven’t got fracking, where are the highly qualified working class jobs? But we don’t really care about them any more do we?”

Perry concluded: “If the Tories don’t sort themselves out and get fracking as soon as possible, this is an open goal for Labour, it really is”.

August 18, 2022

When asked “why are we even bothering with net zero?” during a GB News segment titled “Is the narrative changing when it come [sic] to net zero?”, Perry replied: “well, we shouldn’t be”.³⁵

Perry continued: “Nobody wants it. The times, the mood, has changed. There is a zeitgeist […] people are questioning the science now and they are seeing that it is really dodgy actually, a lot of it, and people aren’t prepared to pay for it.”

Perry later added: “We are completely capable of having domestic energy security, and really, really quickly. You know, we can be fracking in 12 months, we can be, 12 to 18 months. I don’t want to go on just about fracking, we’ve got lots of other things that we could be doing. There is coal, there is North Sea oil, there’s all sorts of other things we could be doing, but we mustn’t let ourselves get into the position of Germany.”

August 11, 2022

During a GB News panel discussion about Prime Minister Liz Truss’s anticipated energy policies, Perry disagreed with a fellow contributor suggesting that “there’s a significant degree of public support for these eco measures”, saying, “no there isn’t, you’re wrong”.³⁶

August 10, 2022

In an interview with Mike Graham on TalkTV, Perry expressed her support for Liz Truss’s campaign to be the next UK Prime Minister, saying: “Truss has already said that she’ll put a moratorium on the green levy and she’s going to look at the impact of the green policies on people’s lives […] she backs fracking as well which is great.”³⁷

Perry also criticised Rishi Sunak because he “absolutely loves net zero” and “he doesn’t want to get rid of the green nonsense”.

August 4, 2022

In a Talk TV segment titled “Tory voters want review of net zero”, Perry claimed that “a whopping 70 percent of Tory voters want net-zero frozen and looked at again”.³⁸

Perry continued:

“The actual overall split, funnily enough, is exactly the same as the vote for us leaving the European Union – 52-48, fancy that. So 52% of everybody, and that’s with all the propaganda and all the messaging that’s been thrown at us relentlessly over this whole period, 52% of everybody don’t want net-zero. We can’t afford it, the science is dodgy, nobody’s allowed to talk about the science and if you are, you’re a denier. The whole thing needs to be looked at again but the most important thing is that the next Tory leader needs to listen to the Tory voters, [and] the voters at the last election, do not want net zero – they can’t afford it and it’s complete nonsense anyway.”

August 1, 2022

When asked by Talk TV host Kevin O’Sullivan about the leadership race between Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, Perry said: “I like Liz Truss, I think she’s great. She’s pro-fracking, she’s a low-tax politician, she’s pro-business, she’s great. And actually, to go back to the gender stuff, she’s been the one that’s been coming out and saying she’s going to make it illegal for the medicalisation of children with regards to gender, and also she said, ‘I know what a woman is’. She seems to be sounding like the most normal person.”³⁹

Perry later added: “he’s a woke, Rishi is a woke”.

July 28, 2022

Perry agreed with GB News presenter Mark Steyn, who argued that “it’s actually hard to find a candidate to get behind who isn’t insanely wedded to this net-zero”, saying: “you’re absolutely right, but I think with Liz Truss she is giving signals that on the surface she has to pay lip service to certain things to do with the climate agenda, but the thing is, she is talking about taking off the green levy off the energy bills and other things.” Perry added: “[Truss] wants to frack, which is fantastic”.⁴⁰

July 25, 2022

Commenting on Rishi Sunak’s campaign to be the next UK Prime Minister in a GB News appearance, Perry said: “He’s totally pro the net zero stuff. […] He is not going to reverse any of that”.⁴¹

In contrast Perry praised Liz Truss, saying: “she’s already said that we’re going to be doing fracking or she’s going to be looking very closely at doing fracking again. She’s not into all the green stuff at all. Well put it this way. She might have to do it a little bit, but Rishi really believes it and really loves it and his 9-year-old is directing his policy”

July 19, 2022

In an interview with Nigel Farage on GB News about the UK’s record temperatures, Perry argued:

“Of course, those temperature records only started 120 years ago and there is a huge span of history, including [the] Roman warming period, mediaeval warming period, which were much hotter. They were growing grapes and making wine in Manchester. There is a huge amount of scientific evidence that you don’t ever hear because people are no-platformed, they’re sacked from their jobs, they’re just not funded.”⁴²

Perry continued:

“The whole net zero thing is about – well, I believe – is about control. It’s about controlling how much we travel, […] whether we can go out, leave the house. We’ve had covid lockdowns, now we’re looking at, in the last couple of days the whole concept of a climate lockdown, i.e. it’s too hot to go out. There is a huge amount of vested interest, people are making money, […] ESG, all of the different financial instruments that have been put in place.”

Perry added that she doesn’t “believe [cutting carbon emissions] has any impact on the environment whatsoever” and concluded:

“There weren’t many cars in the Roman period when it was a lot hotter and we know that for a fact, and there weren’t many cars and there weren’t many coal-powered fire stations in the mediaeval period, in the Roman period.[…] Dr, I think it’s, Otto Weiss, has been talking about cyclical solar patterns which show that it’s absolutely nothing to do with CO2 whatsoever. The thing is, I should be allowed to think that, and it should be allowed to be debated. And physicists and scientists that believe that should be allowed to go on platforms. […] The other scientists’ arguments would be absolutely torn apart by anyone who has not been paid off to say this absolute nonsense.”

When asked by Farage what the government should do with its net zero targets, Perry replied: “They should scrap them, they’re ridiculous and they’re actually human hating”.

During the interview, Perry confirmed that CAR26 is calling for a referendum on net zero.

June 28, 2022

CAR26 claimed that the government had responded to the group’s petition to end the ban on fracking by “open[ing] the door to this huge opportunity”.⁴³

DeSmog reported on June 17, 2022 that Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng had rejected Perry’s petition, saying in a written response: “The government does not agree we should lift the pause on hydraulic fracturing at this time given the lack of new, compelling evidence that shale gas extraction can be done safely.”

In CAR26’s post, which stated that the petition successfully “opens the door to frack once more”, Director Lois Perry said: “I am delighted that my petition has reopened the door to fracking and the Gov is now looking at this again, seriously. I don’t want Brits to suffer when we have treasure beneath us which we can easily and safely exploit, and control the domestic price, instead of suffering a cost of living crisis.”

The post also claimed that “24 MPs have signed a campaign pledge including Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP, Esther McVey MP, and the former Minister of State at the Cabinet Office, Lord Frost” had “signed up to the campaign”, as well as “the leadership team of the parliamentary Net Zero Scrutiny Group, Craig Mackinlay MP and Steve Baker MP”.

The post included quotes from retired engineer Brian Catt. DeSmog reported in 2020 that Catt rejects mainstream climate science after the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) cancelled two virtual climate-related talks Catt was meant to present after pressure from its members.

The post also stated that Net Zero Watch, a campaigning of the Global Warming Policy Forum, had “jumped on board in response to CAR26’s petition and are now calling for the Government to follow the science which shows fracking is safe”.

June 22, 2022

DeSmog reported that CAR26 has close ties to John Mappin — a hotelier and former business associate of Nigel Farage — who tweeted that he stands with the “Russian Bear” and called Putin’s invasion of Ukraine a “gift for the freedom of the world”.⁴⁴ ⁴⁵

Mappin appears to be a keen supporter of CAR26. In May, Mappin tweeted a photo of himself with Perry at a party in Chelsea, London, describing her as “CAR26 founder and mastermind”.⁴⁶

January 12, 2022

In January 2022, CAR26 hosted its “inaugural CAR26 Forum,” during which director Lois Perry spoke to panelists including Howard Cox of FairFuel UK, climate science denier Roger Tattersall, TalkRADIO host Mike Graham, former Brexit Party MEP Lance Forman and former LBC presenter Maajid Nawaz.

December 10, 2021

Lois Perry announced the launch of CAR26’s “Fuel Freedom campaign” in an interview with talkRADIO. She told presenter Mike Graham: “We feel that all our freedom comes from fossil fuels and that people should have the freedom to have a petrol car if they want to or to have gas central heating. They can have a heat pump if they want. It’s all about freedom of choice.”

Perry also argued that fossil fuels “need to be debated” and suggested the UK’s closing of coal-fired power stations was threatening the country’s energy security.⁴⁷

November 11, 2021

During COP26, Perry appeared in a video posted by the CAR26 Twitter account, calling for a referendum on net zero policies and a pause on “all carbon-related policies”.⁴⁸ Piers Corbyn, an astrophysicist, climate science denier and Covid-19 conspiracy theorist, appears in the video arguing with security officers, who are off camera, and a person dressed as a sunflower is seen standing next to Perry.

The CAR26 Twitter account claimed these were “COP26 security”, despite the incident taking place in Glasgow Fort, a shopping centre on the outskirts of the city.

November 8, 2021

Perry appeared on talkRADIO claiming security officers tried to “bundle” her out of the press area at the UN climate summit in Glasgow because “they don’t want free speech”. She said she was taking part in the interview while she was hiding from security in the disabled toilets.⁴⁹

COP26 organisers later said Perry was at a fringe event that was not part of the official summit, and that she was asked to leave a private sponsor’s room. They said Perry initially refused, before visiting a disabled toilet and then leaving the building “of her own accord”.⁵⁰ ⁵¹

November 6, 2021

CAR26 published a full-page advert in the November 6 edition of the Spectator magazine to promote its YouGov poll on support for a net zero referendum.⁵²

The advert also included a photograph of Lois Perry and the quote: “We must not let political consensus drive us into carbon poverty. Let the people take control of the wheel,” and a call for readers to sign the organisation’s petition to hold a net zero referendum. It is not clear how the advert – which is estimated to have cost over £5,000 – was paid for.⁵³

October 26, 2021

Days before COP26 began in Glasgow, Scotland, a poll paid for by CAR26 appeared on the front page of the Telegraph, appearing to show public support for a referendum on the UK’s plans to reach net zero emissions by mid-century.⁵⁴

Reporter Lucy Fisher wrote that the YouGov survey “suggests more work is needed at home” to convince voters about the benefits of decarbonisation policies, and did not mention that CAR26 rejects mainstream climate science.

The publication of the poll prompted two past clients of the director Lois Perry’s company to distance themselves from her firm, which has worked with environmentalist fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and Dragons’ Den entrepreneur James Caan.⁵⁵

Reclaim UK – CAR26 Director Lois Perry is the party’s South East representative.
Blue Sky Strategy – CAR26’s website reportedly “powered by Blue Sky”.