Ralph Palmer

@ralphpalmer.bsky.social

Transport & Air Quality lead at Labour Climate and Environment Forum | New Forest 📍 | Liverpool fan | Views are my own

Let’s get a move on with air-con grants 🆒 Despite Labour approving grants for air to air heating and cooling systems last year, 4 heatwaves later and they still aren’t available… Why? Because agencies haven’t approved an accreditation scheme 😐 It’s time to get it done👇

Great to see yet another strong month for EV sales - up ~50% from July 2025 - with sales now over a 1/4 for the year-to-date, above what's needed to hit ZEV mandate targets. Despite what industry says, the ZEV mandate is working. The Government should stand firm. www.reuters.com/business/uk-...

UK July EV sales beat mandate path, New Automotive data shows

Battery electric vehicle registrations in Britain ​jumped 49% in July from a ‌year earlier, taking more than a quarter of the new car market ​and running ahead of the ​zero-emission vehicle mandate pa...

reuters.com

Sheer fantasy to think that climate change is just going to give us 'hot weather like on holiday'. 300,000 people evacuated across France and Spain. Wildfires in the UK barely kept under control. Yes - we desperately need adaptation, but if we don't mitigate things will get drastically worse.

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And specifically on the bus £2 fare, it comes up repeatedly in GM focus groups and was a rare example of Government actually doing something tangible and good and the rise to £3 was understandably unpopular

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New £2 bus fare cap for England in 2027. Reminds me of Haigh’s words from a couple of years ago (when transport secretary): ‘buses are one of the most important engines of social justice available in transport policy.’ This cap will make bus travel more affordable & simpler for a lot of ppl.

Burnham caps most bus fares in England at £2 but pulls back from possible income tax cut

The new prime minister had suggested he was looking at raising the level at which people start paying income tax - the BBC understands that is no longer being considered.

bbc.co.uk

"My parents came to Britain as Jewish refugees from the Nazis. To them, Britain was both a sanctuary and a beacon of hope in the global fight against fascism. I will carry my parents’ faith in that spirit of Britain to my role representing our country" - Ed Miliband on his appointment as Foreign Sec

It is a great honour and privilege to have been appointed by the Prime Minister to serve as Foreign Secretary.

“My parents came to Britain as Jewish refugees from the Nazis. To them, Britain was both a sanctuary and a beacon of hope in the global fight against fascism. I will carry my parents’ faith in that spirit of Britain to my role representing our country.

“I will be a Foreign Secretary who fights for Britain’s interests and our values of democracy, freedom and the rule of law on the world stage.”

He promised to maintain close ties with both the EU and the United States, as well as upholding Britain’s commitments to Nato and the United Nations. 

 “The FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) I lead will also be at the forefront of issues which pose profound and substantial threats to justice and equality in Britain and across the world.

We will work with others on tackling the climate crisis, strengthening our partnerships for international development, and reforming our international institutions so they deliver for all countries, including the world’s poorest people.”

“hundreds of North Sea licenses granted by the Conservatives over 14 years have produced the equivalent of just 36 days of gas for the UK. The North Sea reserves have been in terminal decline for years. This is a feature of geology, not a piece of political spin” www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...

North Sea drilling is not the answer to our energy problems.

The urgency of the climate crisis is undeniable. The next 12 months are pivotal for advancing the global phase-out of fossil fuels and leaving a li...

politicshome.com

Over 85% Britons say that climate change is responsible - strikingly this extends even across more socially conservative segments more sceptical about things like net-zero. More broadly 66% of Brits are worried about climate change.

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Clean air is a silent (and locally led) success - borne from green spaces, active transport, action against polluting vehicles. Labour can and should own the win. An incredibly good bit of work and polling by our programme manager @ralphpalmer.bsky.social, supported by @goodgrowthfdn.bsky.social.

Labour Climate and Environment Forum@lcefuk.bsky.social · 3w ago

📣 NEW LCEF REPORT + POLLING LAUNCH📣 Our new report, Breathe Easy, shows how Labour can build a strong political offer on clean air, based on polling commissioned from @goodgrowthfdn.bsky.social.

Improving air quality is a central piece of the puzzle for talking to people about their local communities, their neighbourhoods and their high streets. When government talks to the public about making the environment better, it has to (literally) meet people where they live.

Some great findings in our new report very relevant for an incoming Government. Labour are already doing some great things on air quality but are failing to tell a compelling narrative and are often leaving councillors who are doing the right thing exposed at the local level.

Labour Climate and Environment Forum@lcefuk.bsky.social · 3w ago

📣 NEW LCEF REPORT + POLLING LAUNCH📣 Our new report, Breathe Easy, shows how Labour can build a strong political offer on clean air, based on polling commissioned from @goodgrowthfdn.bsky.social.

London has shown what is possible when a major city refuses to accept dirty air as inevitable. The world's largest clean air zone of its kind, cleaner buses and bold borough-level action have together cut harmful pollutants far faster than the experts predicted.

Local Authorities In England Praised For Clean Air Progress In New Study

The report by the UK100 group of councils claims local work around tacking air pollution between 2019 and 2025 prevented an estimated 13,722 deaths.

forbes.com

I love this: people say the UK isn’t cohesive or kind or that culture is only something for certain people. I am of the belief we are the funniest nation on earth, and that is the shared culture and joy that I know and love, and that is wholly inclusive. Grateful to Sof for articulating as always.

Sofie Jenkinson@sofiejenkinson.bsky.social · 3w ago

So I wrote about it again lads. See what you think. It's just my view of the Britain I think exists. Would love to know yours, and what you think our v specific silly British things are – because there were simply too many good ones to list www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

I found this thread very interesting – but I think there is a risk that we become too ‘doomster’ about wind (vs solar.) So, a thread of my own! Spanish renewable energy is cheap partially because the country is very suitable for solar, yes, but they also have a lot of onshore wind…

Left Outside@leftoutside.bsky.social · 4w ago

UK bet big on wind and we lost not because it was a bad bet, but solar is just miles better than wind and we're in the wrong place for it. Its certain we'll have higher energy costs and a less industrial economy than Spain by 2050 for that reason. And we'll have to spend more on grid to achieve it.

Really pleased to say that LCEF is launching a new blog series over the summer on transport. If you have a pitch on anything to do with how the UK & this Labour Government can make a success of transport decarbonisation, we'd love to hear from you! 📩 Email your pitches to: pitch@lcef.co.uk

Labour Climate and Environment Forum@lcefuk.bsky.social · 4w ago

We're nearly finished wrapping up our #FoodSecurity series, but as we head into summer recess and yet another heatwave, we're delighted to announce two new blog series on Transport and Climate Resilience respectively. Please do get in touch at the email below! 📩 pitch@lcef.co.uk

EXC - The £5m gift to Nigel Farage by a cryptocurrency billionaire was reported to the National Crime Agency by bankers who were concerned it may have been laundered money, the Guardian can reveal. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Revealed: Farage’s £5m gift reported to UK crime agency over money laundering concerns

Exclusive: Latest Guardian revelation about gift from cryptocurrency tycoon comes as Reform UK leader forces byelection

theguardian.com

Why should the Burnham government prioritise targeted grid upgrades in its first 100 days? How would this save consumers money, revitalise our industries and lead to new and innovative growth? And what are constraint costs anyhow? 👇

Labour Climate and Environment Forum@lcefuk.bsky.social · last mo.

Our Deputy Director @mcortonscott.bsky.social spoke to Arguably about our policy ideas for Andy Burnham’s first 100 days - including tackling grid constraints. www.arguably.uk/p/20-ideas-f...