Credentials
- BSc, Zoology and Comparative Physiology, Birmingham University.1โCraig Mackinlay MP – Who is he?,โ Politics.co.uk. Archived December 7, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/4nyJ2
- Chartered Accountant (FCA). 2โCraig Mackinlay MP – Who is he?,โ Politics.co.uk. Archived December 7, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/4nyJ2 3โCraig Mackinlay,โ LinkedIn. Accessed December 7, 2021. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/2Bufn
- Chartered Tax Advisor (CTA).4โCraig Mackinlay,โ LinkedIn. Accessed December 7, 2021. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/2Bufn
Background
Craig Mackinlay was been the Conservative MP for South Thanet between 2015-2024,5โMPs and Lords; South Thanet – 2015 General Election,โ UK Parliament. Archived December 7, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/IRlrg and was awarded a peerage in July 2024.6Kate Whannel. “Theresa May and ‘bionic’ MP awarded peerages,” BBC News, July 4, 2024. Archived July 5, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/G1Lv0
Mackinlay was one of the founders of the Anti-Federalist Party, which later became the UK Independence Party (UKIP), serving as the leader of UKIP in 1997 and as deputy leader from 1997 to 2000. Macklinay joined the Conservative Party in 2005.7โAbout Craig,โ Craig Mackinlay MP. Archived October 28, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/mwXNl 8โEx-UKIP leader to stand as Tory MP for Thanet South,โ BBC News. Archived January 21, 2019. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/zgHjQ
Mackinlay has become a leading critic of the governmentโs plans to decarbonise the economy and reach net zero emissions by 2050. Macklinay leads the Net Zero Scrutiny Group, a loose alliance of MPs which was set up by former Tory MP and former Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) Trustee Steve Baker.9Anushka Asthana. โTory backbenchers prepare to fight cost of net zero greenhouse gas emissions,โ itv News, July 31, 2021. Archived September 17, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/9Y2rQ 10Isabel Hardman. โGreen issues expose Tory division and loner Boris Johnsonโs distance from his party,โ The Guardian, August 15, 2021. Archived December 7, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/f6wIn
Mackinlay has indicated that the Net Zero Scrutiny Group will use research and publications from the GWPF to inform its discussions about net zero policies in the UK.11Jess Shankleman and Alex Morales. โBoris Johnsonโs Ambition for Climate Deal Hit by Tory Party Infighting,โ Bloomberg, August 5, 2021. Archived August 5, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/gyeWY
Since 2020, Mackinlay has chaired the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Fair Fuel for UK Motorists and Hauliers.12โRegister Of All-Party Parliamentary Groups [as at 16 December 2020]: Fair Fuel for UK Motorists and UK Hauliers,โ UK Parliament. Archived November 1, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ydJrx Mackinlay is the registered contact for the group as of June 2023, and the public enquiry point is listed as Howard Cox, founder of motoring lobby group Fair Fuel UK.13“Register of All-Party Parliamentary Groups,” UK Parliament, June 28, 2023. Archived June 28, 2023. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Fair Fuel UK is a vocal opponent of fuel duty increases, the governmentโs 2030 ban on petrol and diesel vehicles, and emissions charging schemes designed to cut air pollution.
According to his website, Mackinlay was a founding member of Conservatives for Britain, a campaign organisation formed just after the General Election of 2015 to lobby for a referendum on the UKโs membership of the European Union. During the 2016 EU referendum, Mackinlay campaigned for Brexit and was a member of the Exiting the EU Select Committee in the 2015-2017 and 2017-2019 Parliaments. In the 2015-2017 Parliament, he was also a member of the European Scrutiny Select Committee and the Work and Pensions Select Committee.14โAbout Craig,โ Craig Mackinlay MP. Archived October 28, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/mwXNl
According to his website, Mackinlay wants Manston Airport in his South Thanet constituency to become a โfreight hub with passenger & high value engineering servicesโ.15โMy plan for South Thanet,โ Craig Mackinlay MP. Archived November 4, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/S47qm In 2019, Mackinlay was found to have breached House of Commons rules due to a potential financial interest by calling for the unused Manston airport to be โresurrectedโ during Commons debates. Mackinlay had failed to declare his role as a director of Mama Airlines Ltd, founded in 2001, which Mackinlay had founded with the intention of running a โlow-costโ airline from Manston to Malaga.16Tom Barnes. โTory MP breaches Commons rules by calling to reopen airport from which he had wanted to run his own airline,โ The Independent, June 17, 2018. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yW850
Before beginning his political career, Mackinlay worked at a firm of chartered accountants and qualified as a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He also qualified as a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation.17โAbout Craig,โ Craig Mackinlay MP. Archived October 28, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/mwXNl
Stance on Climate Change
August 6, 2021
In an article by The Times about alleged tensions within the UK Cabinet on climate policy, Mackinlay was quoted saying:
โI am not a climate-change denier. Iโm concerned that our electors of the future will be huddling round their heat-pump radiators and paying off the debt on an electric vehicle they never wanted either as they look wistfully at China, Indonesia and other nations still enjoying cheap energy from some of the dirtiest fossil fuels.โ18Steven Swinford, Oliver Wright, Matt Dathan. โCabinet tensions heat up the road to Cop26,โ The Times, August 14, 2021. Archived August 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/gGOJM
Key Quotes
August 9, 2024
When asked whether he would continue the Net Zero Scrutiny Group project in an interview with GB News, Mackinlay signalled his intent to do so. He said:19Dominic Penna. “People are rioting over the state of Britain โ not Southport, says Tory peer,” The Telegraph, August 9, 2024. Archived August 14, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/eNaKW
“The Net Zero Scrutiny Group will continue. We had a number of peers in it before. I intend it to continue โ and perhaps even stand it up with some external funding โ if we can fund it as a proper group, to actually tell the story to new parliamentarians about why the current thinking is so woolly and so wrong and so costly, and thereโs a better way of doing this.โ
July 4, 2024
In a BBC report detailing that Mackinlay was awarded a peerage, he is quoted as saying he was “overwhelmed at being elevated” to the Lords, saying it would give him “a platform to campaign for sepsis, limb loss and for appropriate prosthetics (as well as sensible net zero). The Bionic MP changes into the Bionic Lord.””20Kate Whannel. “Theresa May and ‘bionic’ MP awarded peerages,” BBC News, July 4, 2024. Archived July 5, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/G1Lv0
November 26, 2022
In a Daily Telegraph article titled โExclusive: The town where boilers will be ripped out for net zero trialโ about a controversial trial to use hydrogen for home heating, Mackinlay commented:
โAs ever, with so much nonsense weโre seeing across the path to net zero, the CO2 balance sheet is often worse than what it is attempting to replace.โ21Emma Gatten. โExclusive: The town where boilers will be ripped out for net zero trial,โ The Telegraph, November 26, 2022. Archived November 26, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.is/vnUO1
October 19, 2022
During a parliamentary debate about fracking, Mackinlay said:
โWe are in the depths of an energy crisisโฆ And here we are speaking about trying to ban a source of domestic energy, while we are short of it. And we wonder why people out there think we are stark, staring mad.โ22Net Zero Watch. โWe are in the depths of an energy crisisโฆ And here we are speaking about trying to ban a source of domestic energy, while we are short of it. And we wonder why people out there think we are stark, staring mad,โ October 19, 2022. Tweet by @NetZeroWatch. Retrieved from Twitter.com. Archived January 23, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/qCMZQ
Net Zero Watch – the campaigning arm of the Global Warming Policy Foundation – tweeted the video, with the caption โSpot on from @cmackinlayโ along with the hashtag: โ#CostOfNetZeroโ.
July 27, 2022
In an Express article which revealed that only a small proportion of households applied to a government scheme to incentivise heat pump installation, Mackinlay was quoted saying that the scheme โattempts to force consumers into adopting technologies which they simply don’t want, are expensive and donโt work very well”.23Jack Walters. โ‘Money wasted’ Brits snub ยฃ450m fund to install heat pumps in net zero push – ‘Inadequate’โ, Express, July 27, 2022. Archived July 27, 2022. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/P8349
“The Government urgently needs to develop a market-friendly approach to decarbonisation which focuses on developing technologies people would choose to use without compulsion.โ
July 16, 2022
In an op-ed for the Express, Mackinlay argued for โa concrete plan that sets us free from the rigid pursuit of Net Zeroโ as a way of dealing with the UKโs energy crisis.24Craig Mackinlay. โNet Zero – the ยฃ3 trillion black hole in the Conservative leadership electionโ, Express, July 16, 2022. Archived July 16, 2022. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/5e322
He wrote: โThe reality is that building more wind turbines and devoting arable land to solar is not going to provide us with the reliable energy we need. The combination of the coal phase out and a failure to invest in nuclear has left us critically exposed to the price of gas.โ He also called the moratorium on shale gas extraction (also known as fracking) โsenselessโ.
May 30, 2022
Mackinlay submitted a written question asking UK Energy Minister, Greg Hands, to ease fracking regulations, calling on him to โpublish the criteria for revising the seismicity limits that apply to shale extractionโ. Earlier in the month, he asked Hands to โpublish the criteria for lifting the moratorium on shale gas extractionโ.25Ruth Hayhurst. โWhat would it take to relax fracking rules? – Tory backbencher asks ministerโ, Drill or drop?, May 31, 2022. Archived May 31, 2022. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/oQTGR
May 14, 2022
A group of Conservative party backbenchers, including Mackinlay, Steve Baker, and Lord David Frost, submitted an open letter to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng arguing that โthe risks associated with fracking are minimalโ.26Edward Malnick. โFracking review โwill undermine trust if risk mitigation factors ignoredโโ, Telegraph, May 14, 2022. Archived August 30, 2022. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/kRUP3
The letter also claimed that a review of fracking will โjeopardise public trust in democracy and Governmentโs ability to handle scientific adviceโ if it does not include evidence that the risks associated with fracking can be โmanaged and mitigatedโ.
May 2, 2022
MacKinlay referred to net zero policies as โthe Net Zero con-trickโ in a GB News article titled โWind farms earn hundreds of millions more from energy crisis after delaying Government subsidy contractโ. He also criticised โthe false promise of cheap renewable energyโ.27Craig MacKinlay. โWind farms earn hundreds of millions more from energy crisis after delaying Government subsidy contractโ, GB News, May 2, 2022. Archived May 2, 2022. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/9qKJn
April 28, 2022
Mackinlay wrote an op-ed for Politics Home in which he warned that โbeing an early mover into new green technologies could come with wasteful costs and plenty of regretsโ. He also argued that โParliament also needs to properly recognise the seriousness and scope of the changes it is asking people to make on the road to net-zeroโ.28Craig Mackinlay. โParliament must consider the impact of net zero policies on people’s lifestylesโ, Politics Home, April 28, 2022. Archived April 28, 2022. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/DhUzQ
Referring to the Net Zero Scrutiny Group, he concluded: โI had no doubt when I set up this group that it would be controversial: […] but it is a sad reflection of how polarised the debate has become, with anyone questioning the plan deemed a ‘climate change denier’โ.
April 4, 2022
Mackinlay wrote an article for Conservative Home titled โHow to gain popular consent for frackingโ. He argued that โwe have been deluged with a tidal wave of misinformationโ on fracking and that โstrange myths around the technology persistโ which โmay have been promoted by Russian propaganda outletsโ.29Craig Mackinlay. โHow to gain popular consent for frackingโ, Conservative Home, April 4, 2022. Archived August 24, 2022. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/QVN79
He continued: โIf people are only hearing one side of the story โ that being the bogus narrative pushed by extreme environmentalist protestors โ then we should not simply accept that, but challenge and refute it.โ
February 28, 2022
In an opinion piece for the Isle of Thanet News in the immediate aftermath of Russiaโs invasion of Ukraine, Mackinlay wrote: โIt is not for nothing that I have been writing for months about the failures of UK and Europeโs energy policy and why I started up the new Net Zero Scrutiny Group of Conservative MPs. We must frack for gas, we must dash to new nuclear and if that means a sensible re-appraisal of the path to Net Zero with an arbitrary date of 2050, then so be it. Blame Vladimir Putin.โ30Craig Mackinlay. โOpinion with South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay: The reality on the ground in Ukraineโ, Isle of Thanet News, February 28, 2022. Archived February 28, 2022. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/zwHVX
February 1, 2022
Speaking to The Telegraph about the government’s decision not to eliminate as many EU regulations retained post-Brexit because the plan did not “fit in with Mr Johnsonโs ambitions to cut Britainโs carbon emissions to net zero by 2050,” Mackinlay said: โNet Zero will take this government down, I can tell you that.”31Joe Barnes and James Crisp. “Boris Johnson scraps Brexit bonfire of EU red tape in favour of net zero rules,” The Telegraph, February 1, 2022. Archived February 1, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/r8sw5
He continued:
โTo think we left the bureaucratic morass of the EU to adopt another one [in net zero] is both shocking and very disappointing. We had an abstract, slight bit of influence in the EU โ but we seem to have no influence against the environmental blob which seems to have taken over Whitehall and Downing Street.โ
January 24, 2022
Mackinlay wrote an op-ed for The Times which claimed that renewable energy sources “cause[d] the doubling of electricity prices between 2002 and 2021” and argued that renewables were at least partly to blame for the UK’s gas crisis.32Craig Mackinlay. “Why back ourselves into an expensive energy corner?” The Times, January 24, 2022. Archived January 27, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/HYmjD
Regarding the gas crisis, Mackinlay wrote:
“The problem is โ as usual โ politics. With much of their publics gripped by a quasi-religious belief in imminent climate catastrophe, politicians have simply acceded to the demands of the green lobby, and instituted bans and moratoriums across the continent. Is it any wonder that prices have gone up?”
Mackinlay also wrote that investing in and “deploying renewables simply locks us into a high-cost future,” and that taxpayers will have to pay the costs “either directly or through general taxation substitution.”
He concluded:
“Fossil fuel prices can go lower โ much lower โ as they have been for most of the last century. A renewables powered future, on the other hand, would lock the public into electricity prices commensurate to those that are causing such pain and anguish today but into perpetuity.”
October 23, 2021
Speaking on GB News during a segment titled โThe cost of net zeroโ, Macklinay claimed that achieving net zero emissions is โvery, very expensive.โ Mackinlay also said that plans to move to net zero are โall reliant on electricity,โ and that the UK had โbungled policy for power for probably a whole generationโ.33โTory MP Crash Mackinlay on ‘bungled’ Net Zero ambitions,โ YouTube video uploaded by user GBNews, October 23, 2021. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.
He also spoke about air source heat pumps, saying they were about four times the price of a โnice, reliable gas boilerโ and that despite installing a heat pump, consumers could โfind [themselves] saddled with higher billsโ. He also claimed that households would have to pay more than ยฃ30,000 for the transition to net zero.
Mackinlay also said: โOf course I want a greener future, of course I do. I want to leave this planet in a better place than we found it,โ and stated that COP26 should focus on reducing single use plastic, protecting ocean biodiversity, and planting forests.
September 20, 2021
In a piece from the Mail Online about the UKโs energy shortage, Mackinlay was quoted saying: โThe transition to Net Zero is going to be over a long period of time. Fossil fuels will be part of the mix for a long period of time. So it makes sense to be as domestically secure as we possibly can.โ34James Tapsfield, David Wilcock. โNo10 dismisses pleas from Tory MPs and energy firms to scrap ‘green levies’ that can make up a QUARTER of household bills to avoid gas crisis triggering wave of ‘fuel poverty’ this winter,โ MailOnline, September 20, 2021. Archived October 31, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/hJDut
Key Actions
July 4, 2024
Mackinlay announced he would not stand for re-election in the July 2024 general election, following a bout of sepsis led to amputation of his hands and feet.35Faye Brown. “‘Bionic MP’ Craig Mackinlay says he won’t contest his seat at general election,” Sky News, May 24, 2024. Archived May 25, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.is/8PmOb
He said:
“Whilst my heart tells me to stand again, there being so much unfinished business across local regeneration and national issues which are important to me, my head knows this to be impossible at this time. It would be difficult to withstand the rigours of an all-out election campaign, a campaign that I’d always wish to lead from the front. Thereafter, upon being re-elected it would be difficult for me to sustain 70 to 80-hour working weeks which were the norm prior to my illness.”
June 25, 2023
Mackinlay and two other MPs affiliated with the Net Zero Scrutiny Group – Greg Smith and Andrew Lewer – said it was “unfair” for UK households to pay a ยฃ170 yearly green levy on energy bills, after the government announced it would no longer cover the cost of the Energy Price Guarantee as of July 2023.36Amy Gibbons. “Rishi Sunak faces backlash over โpunishingโ net zero levy,” The Telegraph, June 25, 2023. Archived June 26, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/RJD7T
Mackinlay said that it was the “wrong time to add costs” to households in light of the cost of living and energy crises, “especially for net zero measures that the public increasingly despise”.
The EPG, announced during Liz Truss’s tenure as prime minister, covered the cost of the green levies and was designed to “reduce the extent of [energy] price increases for domestic customers”.37UK Parliament. “Gas and electricity prices under the Energy Price Guarantee and beyond,” House of Commons Library, May 25, 2023. Archived June 3, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/pv7zI
May 30, 2023
Mackinlay said Labour’s plans to block all new oil and gas developments in the UK North Sea were “incoherent”, adding that gas is “the flexible backbone of electricity generation and home heating, with oil the mainstay of motive power and industrial processes”.38“Pressure mounts on Keir Starmer for U-turn on North Sea oil and gas,” Aberdeen Business News, May 30, 2023. Archived June 28, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/X9zMq
A source for the Labour Party told the Guardian the party is “against the granting of new licences for oil and gas in the North Sea”, but would “continue to use existing oil and gas wells over the coming decades and manage them sustainablyโ. The ban on new North Sea oil and gas licenses would not affect projects that had previously been approved, with the exception of two projects Labour said it would block: the Rosebank and Cambo fields.39Peter Walker. “Labour confirms plans to block all new North Sea oil and gas projects,” The Guardian, May 28, 2023. Archived June 21, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/WAP5h
Mackinlay said Labour’s ban on new licenses would force the UK to import more oil and gas from abroad, adding:40“Pressure mounts on Keir Starmer for U-turn on North Sea oil and gas,” Aberdeen Business News, May 30, 2023. Archived June 28, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/X9zMq
โLabourโs plans to import more will simply enrich foreign treasuries and increase CO2 output, such is the flawed model of international LNG shipments.
โWhen politicians follow flawed ideology the result is usually 180 degrees away from what common sense would dictate. These plans are truly dangerous.โ
May 18, 2023
Mackinlay told the Telegraph he was opposed to the UK’s โsocialist energy agendaโ, speaking with regard to a ยฃ120-a-year levy on consumer energy bills that would support the development of hydrogen gas as part of the governmentโs net zero plans.41Emma Gatten and Nick Gutteridge. “Net zero could push energy bills up by ยฃ120 a year,” The Telegraph, May 18, 2023. Archived June 19, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/LyW8X
March 7, 2023
Mackinlay tweeted a picture of himself reading a “newspaper” produced by fuel lobbying group FairFuel UK, writing that it was a “great read” about ULEZ, “crackpot #LTN schemes”, and the “cost & environmental scandal” of electric vehicles.42Craig Mackinlay. “Good to receive @HowardCCox #FairFuelUK newspaper demanding cut to fuel duty, pump price rip-off, #ULEZ & crackpot #LTN schemes, the cost & environmental scandal of #EVs. #Stopthe2030 #ICE ban and much more. Great read!,” tweet from user @cmackinlay, March 7, 2023. Retrieved from twitter.com. Archived June 28, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/NWTfv
November 26, 2022
Speaking to the Telegraph about a trial that would replace gas boilers in the town of Ellesmere Port with hydrogen boilers, Mackinlay called the scheme “greenwash” and raised concerns about the infrastructure, costs, safety and supply of hydrogen fuel.43Emma Gatten. “Exclusive: The town where boilers will be ripped out for net zero trial,” The Telegraph, November 26, 2022. Archived March 29, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/vnUO1
He added: โAs ever, with so much nonsense weโre seeing across the path to net zero, the CO2 balance sheet is often worse than what it is attempting to replace.โ
February 16, 2022
DeSmog revealed that Mackinlay employed two Parliamentary aides with links to the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF): Harry Wilkinson, head of policy at the GWPF; and Ruth Lea, a trustee of the GWPF from 2019 to 2021. Mackinlay confirmed that Lea had had a parliamentary pass through association with his office since 2016.
When asked about Lea, Mackinlay told POLITICO: “She has never been paid and has assisted me primarily across Brexit, Treasury and economic issues throughout as she continues to do.โ44Esther Webber and Karl Mathisen. “Tory MP hires staff linked to climate denial group,” POLITICO, February 16, 2022. Archived February 17, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/zW8RE
He added that her work with Net Zero Watch โwas wholly unconnected to her original appointment with me and is not related to her continuation as a passholder now. She is largely retired these days and she comes to parliament infrequently.โ
Regarding Wilkinsonโs continuing employment with Net Zero Watch, Mackinlay said that Wilkinson’s roles are โfully disclosed according to parliamentary rules applying to MPsโ employees and his depth of knowledge acquired there is invaluable to my interest and work on net zero issues.”
February 10, 2022
Mackinlay wrote an article for The Critic titled “Green energy cannot save us,” in which he argued that the government’s “determination to push through Net Zero policies without adequate consideration of their implications could do even more damage to the Government than Partygate”. 45Craig Mackinlay. “Green energy cannot save us,” The Critic, February 10, 2022. Archived February 10, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/1XUMD
He also claimed that “it would take extreme propaganda to blame free markets and low taxes [for the energy crisis] when we have had extensive state planning, high taxes, subsidies and misleading claims about the costs of renewables”.
Mackinlay also wrote that calls for a quicker transition away from gas as a main energy source in the UK have come “habitually from people who would have said this whatever else was happening in the world” and that such a transition “may be a solution for decades ahead once technology evolves, but the problem we have is now”.
He concluded:
“We must be able to use our own natural gas supplies, which are right under our feet as well as out to sea. Using our own gas will bring investment, jobs, a good helping of taxes and reduce emissions compared to imported gas, which often comes with geopolitical strings attached. To say that we ought not to try because it might not make that much of a difference to prices is utterly defeatist, neglecting the experience of the USA. Itโs for businesses to experiment in the marketplace and not for the government to arbitrarily cancel industries and manage prices based on a hunch that may prove to be wrong.”
February 6, 2022
In an op-ed for the Telegraph about the UK’s gas crisis, Mackinlay wrote that “the wholesale decarbonisation of the economy โ so called โNet Zeroโ” was having “disastrous implications for the cost of living”. He also claimed that the UK’s moratorium on fracking and “a broad refusal, with limited exceptions, to unlock North Sea reserves” were partly responsible for the gas crisis and cost of living crisis.46Craig Mackinlay. “A Conservative free-market approach is the solution to our energy woes,” The Telegraph, February 6, 2022. Archived February 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/XTESv
Mackinlay also wrote that the Climate Change Committee (CCC) had provided “poor-quality advice” about the cost of the transition to net zero and claimed that in the view of the current government, “nothing must be allowed to get in the way of decarbonisation efforts, and anyone who questions this must be some sort of climate โdenierโ.”
He also argued that the UK should “make use of the extraordinary natural resources that we have under our feet and out to sea” and end the “incoherent shale gas moratorium,” which he claimed could create “74,000 skilled jobs in the Red Wall”.
February 6, 2022
In a Telegraph article about concerns that the current energy efficiency rating system for homes, Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rules, could mean that installing a heat pump lowers the value of a property, Mackinlay claimed that heat pumps “can actually increase energy use” and that installing and using one “could push a property that might have been rated C under an old method into D”.47Tom Rees and Tony Diver. “Homes risk energy rating downgrade if they install a heat pump,” The Telegraph, February 6, 2022. Archived February 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Ge6dL
The article noted that although heat pumps produce less carbon dioxide (CO2) than burning gas for energy, “the way that the ratings are currently estimated means that replacing a traditional gas boiler with a heat pump can lower a home’s energy efficiency rating.”
An October 2021 Telegraph article reported that heat pumps “produce around three times the energy they use, making them much more efficient than a gas boiler”.48Gareth Davies. “Low carbon heat pumps: Everything you need to know from cost to efficiency,” The Telegraph, October 20, 2021. Archived February 3, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/km5pA
February 4, 2022
Speaking to PoliticsHome about a support package announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak to help ease the cost of living crisis, Mackinlay reportedly cautioned against provisions in the package to support the renewable energy sector because “this whole dash to renewables isnโt really working”.49Kate Proctor. “Rishi Sunak Urged To Drop Green Levy To Ease The Cost Of Living Crisis,” PoliticsHome, February 4, 2022. Archived February 4, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/R3lrP
Mackinlay also said that the government should focus on developing its domestic energy supply, especially from nuclear and gas, arguing:
โWe have been blessed in this country with very large gas reserves. Why on earth would you be importing gas which everybody accepts has to be part of the energy mix, no matter if youโre fully onto net zero or not. We have those reserves, for heavens sake letโs use them.”
November 17, 2021
Mackinlay spoke to NTD UK News about the recent launch of the Net Zero Scrutiny Group, which would push for more critical discussion on government policies to reach net zero carbon emissions. When asked how many were involved in the group, he said it was “sort of growing north of 50 and growing by the day”.50โNTD UK News Full Broadcast,โ NTD UK News, November 17, 2021. Archived December 6, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/o35b2
He told the channel: โItโs quite surprising about how many MPs that I wouldnโt have considered particularly interested in these things are now tapping me on the shoulder and saying, you know what, we need to have a decent discussion on this within the party, because this is not electorally good for us.โ
Mackinlay also said: โWe shouldnโt be demonising gas. Gas is a far more efficient way, much smaller CO2 footprint to create energy than coal.โ
The following day, a clip of the video was posted by Net Zero Watch, the new name for the Global Warming Policy Forum, the campaigning wing of the UKโs most prominent climate science denial group, the Global Warming Policy Foundation.51โ”It’s surprising how many MPs are now tapping me on the shoulder to say, we’ve got to have a decent discussion about [Net Zero] within the party. It’s not electorally good for us. Economically, it’s a disaster zone. We should be looking at another way” @cmackinlay #CostOfNetZero,โ Tweet by @NetZeroWatch, November 18, 2021. Retrieved from Twitter.com. Archived .png on file at DeSmog.
October 23, 2021
Mackinlay was quoted in a Telegraph article questioning the net zero pathway laid out by the Climate Change Committee (CCC), specifically that the CCCโs target โrelies on a rise in windy days,โ as saying: “These predictions appear somewhat fanciful. The Climate Change Committee seem to be looking at the whole project through rose-tinted spectacles to try and minimalise the unpalatable costs of this whole enterprise.”52Edward Malnick. โNet Zero target relies on rise in windy days,โ The Telegraph, October 23, 2021. Archived October 29, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YSthy
The data underlying the report was obtained through a tribunal case brought by Andrew Montford, deputy director of the GWPF, after the climate sceptic group had argued that the CCC had not been transparent about its calculations for the cost of the net zero transition.53David Rose. โTell us the true cost of saving the planet: Judge orders quango to back up claim of ‘only’ 1% of GDP to hit net zero,โ The Daily Mail, August 6, 2021. Archived August 6, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/dWg1Y The analysis reported on in the article was conducted by the free-market Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), which recently claimed that the โquality of the CCCโs advice is questionableโ.54Victoria Hewson. โHot Air: A Critique of the UKโs Climate Change Committee,โ Institute of Economic Affairs, October 2021. Archived October 24, 2021. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
October 20, 2021
Mackinlay told LBCโs Iain Dale that the cost of the net zero transition, specifically retrofitting households to be more energy efficient, is โtruly colossalโ and that it will cost โover ยฃ30,000 per householdโ.55Seรกn Hickey. โTory MP: Governmentโs net zero plan โthe stuff of madnessโโ, LBC, October 19, 2021. Archived October 25, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/me4p5
October 19, 2021
Mackinlay was quoted in a Daily Mail article stating that โBorisโs ยฃ1TRILLION green dreamโ will have a negative financial impact on Britons, describing the government’s net zero plans as a โlargely uncosted wish listโ, adding that he was โmost uncomfortable for the lower paid who will bear the cost of much of this greenwash in higher bills and taxes whilst the wealthier will bank their contribution towards their five figure heat pump.โ56Jason Groves, Claire Ellicott, James Tapsfield. โHow Boris’s ยฃ1TRILLION green dream could hit YOU: Britons face MORE taxes, a 50% hike on their heating bills, paying ยฃ10k or more for a heat pump, up to ยฃ9k a wall for insulation – and owners of inefficient homes may struggle to get a mortgageโ, The Daily Mail, October 20, 2021. Archived November 5, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/1SVyf
Mackinlay also said that the UK is โon a path to bankruptcy with multi-trillion pound dreamsโ as โbig global emitters of CO2 pay lip service to net zeroโ.
September 10, 2021
Mackinlay wrote an article for The Critic titled โDid the PM tell the truth about Net Zero?โ, published after Mackinlay asked Prime Minister Boris Johnson about the cost of the governmentโs proposed pathway to net zero emissions. In it, he wrote that the UKโs decarbonisation policies must be โboth affordable and technologically feasibleโ and claimed that โrenewable energy in Britain has not, as the Prime Minister suggests, been getting cheaperโ, adding that โaudited accounts show clearly that offshore wind capital costs remain high and that their operation and maintenance costs are rising rapidlyโ.57Craig Mackinlay. โDid the PM tell the truth about Net Zero?,โ The Critic, September 10, 2021. Archived November 6, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/HATVw
Mackinlay added that โGovernment cost estimates are invariably based on the predictions of the industries concernedโ, and that checking the wind and solar industriesโ predictions โagainst the reality of audited accountsโ makes their claims about the efficiency of wind and solar appear โmisleadingโ.
September 2021
Mackinlay wrote an article for The Critic titled โWhat will Net Zero cost?โ in which he argued that the transition to net zero emissions is โthe British stateโs biggest undertaking for a generation and a strange throwback to the command and control regimes of oldโ.58Craig Mackinlay. โWhat will Net Zero cost?โ The Critic, August/September 2021. Archived November 13, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ek962
Macklinay added: โEvery gas boiler will need to be replaced, the freedoms, flexibility and affordability offered by petrol and diesel vehicles will have to be denied, and most industrial processes reimagined.โ
Mackinlay also wrote that it had not been determined who would pay for the transition, and that the Climate Change Committeeโs cost estimate for the transition meant โhouseholds are each facing a ยฃ50,000 bill for over the next 30 yearsโ.
September 8, 2021
In a parliamentary debate, Mackinlay asked the Prime Minister for an answer to โconstituents I have of the futureโ who will have to โsit around a tepid radiator powered by an inefficient and expensive air source heating unit, worrying about the payments on the electric car that they didnโt want either, while they watch the growing economies of the world going hell-for-leather building new gas and coal power stationsโ.59โCraig Mackinlay MP describes his constituents of the future “sitting around a tepid radiator” powered by an expensive air source heat pump. @cmackinlay Could this be your future under Net Zero?โ ๏ธ#CostOfNetZeroโ, tweet from user @NetZeroWatch. Retrieved from Twitter.com. Archived October 27, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/2nbhX
Mackinlay asked Prime Minister Boris Johnson to โplease commit to solutions that are technologically possible to reduce Britainโs CO2โ rather than โuncosted commitmentsโ. The clip was later shared by the Global Warming Policy Foundation, since rebranded as Net Zero Watch, on Twitter.
August 19, 2021
In an interview for Kent Online, Mackinlay voiced his opposition to wider adoption of electric vehicles, claiming that Britons โare being skewered down the route of just battery vehiclesโ and that โthere are a lot of hidden costs to the planet here, not least because of the rare metals involved, which are usually produced in the Democratic Republic of Congo, involving unspeakable human miseryโ.60Paul Francis. โSouth Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay to lead backbench group scrutinising government over climate change decisions,โ Kent Online, August 19, 2021. Archived November 2, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Cxpns
August 16, 2021
In a personal update posted to his website, Mackinlay wrote about Parliament returning: โHow can we steer the government away from potential unfolding disaster in its unrealistic Net Zero plans? Lots of challenges on the horizon and you can be sure I will be in the thick of it.โ61Craig Mackinlay. โMy Regular Update: August 16, 2021,โ Craig Mackinlay MP, August 16, 2021. Archived December 13, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/QFFsg
July 29, 2021
Mackinlay announced on his website that his constituency had received more than ยฃ6.5 million for flood protection from the government, meaning that โ913 more homes and businesses in Thanet are to be better protected from flooding and coastal erosion by 2026-2027โ.62Craig Mackinlay. โThanet To Receive Over ยฃ6.5m For Flood Protection,โ Craig Mackinlay MP, July 29, 2021. Archived December 13, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/bNRho Although the governmentโs press release for the scheme explicitly noted it was meant to increase the areaโs โclimate resilienceโ, Bob Ward, policy and communications director for the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics, pointed out that Macklinay did not acknowledge that the funding was allocated to address the effects of climate change.63โSouth East flood protection receives record government investment,โ GOV.UK, July 29, 2021. Archived July 29, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/1vIX5 64Bob Ward, โMisinformation and propaganda campaign on net zero,โ September 10, 2021. Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. Archived October 23, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/U2cr2
July 16, 2021
Mackinlay wrote an article for Conservative Home titled โThe Government is fooling itself if it thinks it can go down the Net Zero path without electoral damageโ, in which he called the governmentโs current path to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 โmuddled, costly and impracticalโ and said that โthe poor will suffer from these elite delusionsโ. He also said that there is no answer to the question of โwho paysโ for the net zero transition, and raised concerns about a โradical transformation of every part of the economyโ.65Craig Mackinlay. โCraig Mackinlay: The Government is fooling itself if it thinks it can go down the Net Zero path without electoral damage,โ Conservative Home, July 16, 2021. Archived November 11, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/flhIm
Mackinlay also criticised the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) and its ยฃ1.4 trillion cost estimate for the transition to net zero, saying the body โiโโs supposed to provide rigorous, independent advice to parliamentโ but โalways recommends further and fasterโ.
He added: โThe CCC is a significant player in the political debate around Net Zero, often explicitly directing Government policy, while being totally unelected and unaccountable. Mainstream media regurgitates its words sagely with little space offered to those who question its assumptions.โ
November 25, 2020
After noting his new role as the chairman of the APPG for Fair Fuel for Motorists and Hauliers, Mackinlay wrote in a local Thanet column that the governmentโs 2030 diesel and petrol car ban meant โany beneficial technological improvements to the diesel and petrol engine which has advanced rapidly with cleaner burning, more efficient engines, now comes to a grinding halt foreverโ. Mackinlay added: โโโThe anti-motorist battle continues as I speak out against new ill-conceived cycle lanes carved out from already congested and insufficient road space. Iโm all for new dedicated space for cycling and walking but not at the expense of other road users.โ66Craig Mackinlay. โCraig Mackinlay: Thanet column for week ending November 27,โ InYourArea, November 25, 2020. Archived January 18, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Vj0FE
In the same column, Mackinaly wrote that while โwe all want cleaner airโ, hydrogen technology is โmore sensibleโ than electric vehicles (EVs) and that EV batteries and the necessary โupgraded electricity infrastructureโ must be factored into the carbon cost of switching to electric vehicles.
June 17, 2018
Mackinlay was found to have breached House of Commons rules due to a potential financial interest by calling for the unused Manston airport in his constituency of South Thanet to be โresurrectedโ during Commons debates. Mackinlay had failed to declare his role as a director of Mama Airlines Ltd, which he had founded in 2000 with the intention of running a โlow-costโ airline from Manston to Malaga.67Tom Barnes. โTory MP breaches Commons rules by calling to reopen airport from which he had wanted to run his own airline,โ The Independent, June 17, 2018. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yW850
In a statement, Mackinlay said: โThe company has never traded, has never even had a bank account, and I have never derived any remuneration or benefit from it.
โNot in my wildest dreams did I think, through any common sense interpretation of the rules, that a dormant company, a mere incorporation of an idea some 17 years old would require registration.
โI will continue to speak up for an aviation future for Manston as much as I am able, not least as, despite the passage of time, it is an industry that I understand and have, albeit historic, knowledge of.โ
Affiliations
- Conservative Party โ Member of Parliament.
- Net Zero Scrutiny Group โ Leader.
- Fair Fuel UK โ Chair of All Party Parliamentary Group for Fair Fuel for UK Motorists and Hauliers.
- UK Independence Party โ Former leader and deputy leader.
Social Media
- @cmackinlay on Twitter
- โCraig Mackinlayโ on Facebook
- โCraig Mackinlayโ on YouTube
Publications
- “Green energy cannot save us,” The Critic, February 10, 2022.
- “A Conservative free-market approach is the solution to our energy woes,” The Telegraph, February 6, 2022.
- โDid the PM tell the truth about Net Zero?,โ The Critic, September 10, 2021.
- โWhat will Net Zero cost?โ The Critic, August/September 2021.
- โCraig Mackinlay: The Government is fooling itself if it thinks it can go down the Net Zero path without electoral damage,โ Conservative Home, July 16, 2021.
- โCraig Mackinlay: The Government is fooling itself if it thinks it can go down the Net Zero path without electoral damage,โ Conservative Home, July 16, 2021.
Resources
- 1โCraig Mackinlay MP – Who is he?,โ Politics.co.uk. Archived December 7, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/4nyJ2
- 2โCraig Mackinlay MP – Who is he?,โ Politics.co.uk. Archived December 7, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/4nyJ2
- 3โCraig Mackinlay,โ LinkedIn. Accessed December 7, 2021. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/2Bufn
- 4โCraig Mackinlay,โ LinkedIn. Accessed December 7, 2021. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/2Bufn
- 5โMPs and Lords; South Thanet – 2015 General Election,โ UK Parliament. Archived December 7, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/IRlrg
- 6Kate Whannel. “Theresa May and ‘bionic’ MP awarded peerages,” BBC News, July 4, 2024. Archived July 5, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/G1Lv0
- 7โAbout Craig,โ Craig Mackinlay MP. Archived October 28, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/mwXNl
- 8โEx-UKIP leader to stand as Tory MP for Thanet South,โ BBC News. Archived January 21, 2019. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/zgHjQ
- 9Anushka Asthana. โTory backbenchers prepare to fight cost of net zero greenhouse gas emissions,โ itv News, July 31, 2021. Archived September 17, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/9Y2rQ
- 10Isabel Hardman. โGreen issues expose Tory division and loner Boris Johnsonโs distance from his party,โ The Guardian, August 15, 2021. Archived December 7, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/f6wIn
- 11Jess Shankleman and Alex Morales. โBoris Johnsonโs Ambition for Climate Deal Hit by Tory Party Infighting,โ Bloomberg, August 5, 2021. Archived August 5, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/gyeWY
- 12
- 13“Register of All-Party Parliamentary Groups,” UK Parliament, June 28, 2023. Archived June 28, 2023. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 14โAbout Craig,โ Craig Mackinlay MP. Archived October 28, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/mwXNl
- 15โMy plan for South Thanet,โ Craig Mackinlay MP. Archived November 4, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/S47qm
- 16Tom Barnes. โTory MP breaches Commons rules by calling to reopen airport from which he had wanted to run his own airline,โ The Independent, June 17, 2018. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yW850
- 17โAbout Craig,โ Craig Mackinlay MP. Archived October 28, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/mwXNl
- 18Steven Swinford, Oliver Wright, Matt Dathan. โCabinet tensions heat up the road to Cop26,โ The Times, August 14, 2021. Archived August 14, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/gGOJM
- 19Dominic Penna. “People are rioting over the state of Britain โ not Southport, says Tory peer,” The Telegraph, August 9, 2024. Archived August 14, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/eNaKW
- 20Kate Whannel. “Theresa May and ‘bionic’ MP awarded peerages,” BBC News, July 4, 2024. Archived July 5, 2024. Archive URL: https://archive.is/G1Lv0
- 21Emma Gatten. โExclusive: The town where boilers will be ripped out for net zero trial,โ The Telegraph, November 26, 2022. Archived November 26, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.is/vnUO1
- 22Net Zero Watch. โWe are in the depths of an energy crisisโฆ And here we are speaking about trying to ban a source of domestic energy, while we are short of it. And we wonder why people out there think we are stark, staring mad,โ October 19, 2022. Tweet by @NetZeroWatch. Retrieved from Twitter.com. Archived January 23, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.is/qCMZQ
- 23Jack Walters. โ‘Money wasted’ Brits snub ยฃ450m fund to install heat pumps in net zero push – ‘Inadequate’โ, Express, July 27, 2022. Archived July 27, 2022. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/P8349
- 24Craig Mackinlay. โNet Zero – the ยฃ3 trillion black hole in the Conservative leadership electionโ, Express, July 16, 2022. Archived July 16, 2022. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/5e322
- 25Ruth Hayhurst. โWhat would it take to relax fracking rules? – Tory backbencher asks ministerโ, Drill or drop?, May 31, 2022. Archived May 31, 2022. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/oQTGR
- 26Edward Malnick. โFracking review โwill undermine trust if risk mitigation factors ignoredโโ, Telegraph, May 14, 2022. Archived August 30, 2022. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/kRUP3
- 27Craig MacKinlay. โWind farms earn hundreds of millions more from energy crisis after delaying Government subsidy contractโ, GB News, May 2, 2022. Archived May 2, 2022. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/9qKJn
- 28Craig Mackinlay. โParliament must consider the impact of net zero policies on people’s lifestylesโ, Politics Home, April 28, 2022. Archived April 28, 2022. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/DhUzQ
- 29Craig Mackinlay. โHow to gain popular consent for frackingโ, Conservative Home, April 4, 2022. Archived August 24, 2022. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/QVN79
- 30Craig Mackinlay. โOpinion with South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay: The reality on the ground in Ukraineโ, Isle of Thanet News, February 28, 2022. Archived February 28, 2022. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/zwHVX
- 31Joe Barnes and James Crisp. “Boris Johnson scraps Brexit bonfire of EU red tape in favour of net zero rules,” The Telegraph, February 1, 2022. Archived February 1, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/r8sw5
- 32Craig Mackinlay. “Why back ourselves into an expensive energy corner?” The Times, January 24, 2022. Archived January 27, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/HYmjD
- 33โTory MP Crash Mackinlay on ‘bungled’ Net Zero ambitions,โ YouTube video uploaded by user GBNews, October 23, 2021. Archived .mp4 on file at DeSmog.
- 34James Tapsfield, David Wilcock. โNo10 dismisses pleas from Tory MPs and energy firms to scrap ‘green levies’ that can make up a QUARTER of household bills to avoid gas crisis triggering wave of ‘fuel poverty’ this winter,โ MailOnline, September 20, 2021. Archived October 31, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/hJDut
- 35Faye Brown. “‘Bionic MP’ Craig Mackinlay says he won’t contest his seat at general election,” Sky News, May 24, 2024. Archived May 25, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.is/8PmOb
- 36Amy Gibbons. “Rishi Sunak faces backlash over โpunishingโ net zero levy,” The Telegraph, June 25, 2023. Archived June 26, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/RJD7T
- 37UK Parliament. “Gas and electricity prices under the Energy Price Guarantee and beyond,” House of Commons Library, May 25, 2023. Archived June 3, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/pv7zI
- 38“Pressure mounts on Keir Starmer for U-turn on North Sea oil and gas,” Aberdeen Business News, May 30, 2023. Archived June 28, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/X9zMq
- 39Peter Walker. “Labour confirms plans to block all new North Sea oil and gas projects,” The Guardian, May 28, 2023. Archived June 21, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/WAP5h
- 40“Pressure mounts on Keir Starmer for U-turn on North Sea oil and gas,” Aberdeen Business News, May 30, 2023. Archived June 28, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/X9zMq
- 41Emma Gatten and Nick Gutteridge. “Net zero could push energy bills up by ยฃ120 a year,” The Telegraph, May 18, 2023. Archived June 19, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/LyW8X
- 42Craig Mackinlay. “Good to receive @HowardCCox #FairFuelUK newspaper demanding cut to fuel duty, pump price rip-off, #ULEZ & crackpot #LTN schemes, the cost & environmental scandal of #EVs. #Stopthe2030 #ICE ban and much more. Great read!,” tweet from user @cmackinlay, March 7, 2023. Retrieved from twitter.com. Archived June 28, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/NWTfv
- 43Emma Gatten. “Exclusive: The town where boilers will be ripped out for net zero trial,” The Telegraph, November 26, 2022. Archived March 29, 2023. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/vnUO1
- 44Esther Webber and Karl Mathisen. “Tory MP hires staff linked to climate denial group,” POLITICO, February 16, 2022. Archived February 17, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/zW8RE
- 45Craig Mackinlay. “Green energy cannot save us,” The Critic, February 10, 2022. Archived February 10, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/1XUMD
- 46Craig Mackinlay. “A Conservative free-market approach is the solution to our energy woes,” The Telegraph, February 6, 2022. Archived February 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/XTESv
- 47Tom Rees and Tony Diver. “Homes risk energy rating downgrade if they install a heat pump,” The Telegraph, February 6, 2022. Archived February 6, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Ge6dL
- 48Gareth Davies. “Low carbon heat pumps: Everything you need to know from cost to efficiency,” The Telegraph, October 20, 2021. Archived February 3, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/km5pA
- 49Kate Proctor. “Rishi Sunak Urged To Drop Green Levy To Ease The Cost Of Living Crisis,” PoliticsHome, February 4, 2022. Archived February 4, 2022. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/R3lrP
- 50โNTD UK News Full Broadcast,โ NTD UK News, November 17, 2021. Archived December 6, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/o35b2
- 51โ”It’s surprising how many MPs are now tapping me on the shoulder to say, we’ve got to have a decent discussion about [Net Zero] within the party. It’s not electorally good for us. Economically, it’s a disaster zone. We should be looking at another way” @cmackinlay #CostOfNetZero,โ Tweet by @NetZeroWatch, November 18, 2021. Retrieved from Twitter.com. Archived .png on file at DeSmog.
- 52Edward Malnick. โNet Zero target relies on rise in windy days,โ The Telegraph, October 23, 2021. Archived October 29, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/YSthy
- 53David Rose. โTell us the true cost of saving the planet: Judge orders quango to back up claim of ‘only’ 1% of GDP to hit net zero,โ The Daily Mail, August 6, 2021. Archived August 6, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/dWg1Y
- 54Victoria Hewson. โHot Air: A Critique of the UKโs Climate Change Committee,โ Institute of Economic Affairs, October 2021. Archived October 24, 2021. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
- 55Seรกn Hickey. โTory MP: Governmentโs net zero plan โthe stuff of madnessโโ, LBC, October 19, 2021. Archived October 25, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/me4p5
- 56Jason Groves, Claire Ellicott, James Tapsfield. โHow Boris’s ยฃ1TRILLION green dream could hit YOU: Britons face MORE taxes, a 50% hike on their heating bills, paying ยฃ10k or more for a heat pump, up to ยฃ9k a wall for insulation – and owners of inefficient homes may struggle to get a mortgageโ, The Daily Mail, October 20, 2021. Archived November 5, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/1SVyf
- 57Craig Mackinlay. โDid the PM tell the truth about Net Zero?,โ The Critic, September 10, 2021. Archived November 6, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/HATVw
- 58Craig Mackinlay. โWhat will Net Zero cost?โ The Critic, August/September 2021. Archived November 13, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/ek962
- 59โCraig Mackinlay MP describes his constituents of the future “sitting around a tepid radiator” powered by an expensive air source heat pump. @cmackinlay Could this be your future under Net Zero?โ ๏ธ#CostOfNetZeroโ, tweet from user @NetZeroWatch. Retrieved from Twitter.com. Archived October 27, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/2nbhX
- 60Paul Francis. โSouth Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay to lead backbench group scrutinising government over climate change decisions,โ Kent Online, August 19, 2021. Archived November 2, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Cxpns
- 61Craig Mackinlay. โMy Regular Update: August 16, 2021,โ Craig Mackinlay MP, August 16, 2021. Archived December 13, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/QFFsg
- 62Craig Mackinlay. โThanet To Receive Over ยฃ6.5m For Flood Protection,โ Craig Mackinlay MP, July 29, 2021. Archived December 13, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/bNRho
- 63โSouth East flood protection receives record government investment,โ GOV.UK, July 29, 2021. Archived July 29, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/1vIX5
- 64Bob Ward, โMisinformation and propaganda campaign on net zero,โ September 10, 2021. Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. Archived October 23, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/U2cr2
- 65Craig Mackinlay. โCraig Mackinlay: The Government is fooling itself if it thinks it can go down the Net Zero path without electoral damage,โ Conservative Home, July 16, 2021. Archived November 11, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/flhIm
- 66Craig Mackinlay. โCraig Mackinlay: Thanet column for week ending November 27,โ InYourArea, November 25, 2020. Archived January 18, 2021. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/Vj0FE
- 67Tom Barnes. โTory MP breaches Commons rules by calling to reopen airport from which he had wanted to run his own airline,โ The Independent, June 17, 2018. Archived November 9, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.ph/yW850