Ed Miliband has been warned he may not be re-elected (Image: Getty)
Ed Miliband has been warned he may not be re-elected as MP for Doncaster North because of his promise to rapidly expand the UK's solar energy capacity. It has been suggested the energy security and net zero minister could lose his seat to Reform UK after facing a major backlash from his own voters over alleged plans to cover swathes of farmland in South Yorkshire with solar panels.
Mr Miliband is leading an aggressive net zero push for renewable energy such as solar, with developers in his own electorate showing interest. The city and surrounding areas have become a hotspot for developments, including the Marr Solar project, led by a company called Enviromena. Another major solar project set to surround the small village of Fenwick was approved by authorities this week.
Other approved projects include Europe's largest battery storage plant and at least three other solar parks. However, all but one were criticized by the Energy Secretary's potential voters themselves.
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In Mr Miliband's constituency, Reform came to power in last year's local elections, ending decades of Labor dominance (Image: Getty)
According to The Telegraph, it may be a coincidence, but voters in each of the districts already selected to build large solar farms switched to Reform. In Mr Miliband's constituency, Nigel Farage's party came to power in last year's local elections, ending decades of Labor dominance. Two Labor councilors and one Conservative councilor were replaced by three new Reform councilors who strongly opposed the plan.
“Reform has surrounded Doncaster,” Moss and District Parish Council member Stephen Fowle, who lives in Fenwick, told the newspaper. “Ed Miliband will never be our MP again.”
Mr Fowle, formerly a staunch Labor Party member, quit over what he described as London's solar “land grab”, which he said would devalue his home and destroy the area's rural character.
Rachel Reed, Reform councilor in Doncaster, said: “What we are seeing in this area is the destruction of the green belt and the destruction of agricultural land by solar farms on a large scale.”
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Reform also took control of last year's local elections in Lincolnshire (Image: Getty)
She added that prime farmland was being developed in an area where there was not much sunshine, changing the landscape “against the consent of locals”.
Enviromena's planning application for Marr Solar was roundly rejected by Doncaster City Council, despite being supported by planning officers. The decision is currently being appealed.
However, the Fenwick solar farm project continues. The project, which received planning permission on Wednesday (February 18), will cover about 1,324 hectares of land – the equivalent of about 650 football fields – and generate a capacity of up to 237.5 MW, enough to power about 75,000 homes annually. The solar farm will be built and operated by Boom Power, founded by Mark Hogan, a renewable energy entrepreneur.
Mr Miliband also approved several large solar projects in October, including the 1,200-acre Tillbridge solar farm in Lincolnshire. According to its council leader Sean Matthews, the backlash against the plans was key to Reform also gaining control in last year's election. If recent polls are correct, the reform surge here could soon be repeated in Norfolk, Suffolk and other counties.
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