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The Prime Minister made it clear he is committed to meeting targets to combat climate change, but he will not do it on the backs of struggling families.<\/p>\n
Pushing back bans on new boilers and petrol cars puts a clear dividing line between the government and Labour.<\/p>\n
Keir Starmer now faces a choice of matching the Tories or explaining to voters why they will have to pay exorbitant prices for electric cars or heat pumps in just seven years\u2019 time.<\/p>\n
Polling shows voters wants action to protect the environment but was increasingly unhappy about the timescale.<\/p>\n
Mr Sunak feared that public consent for the changes could collapse if he pressed ahead with the plans that put Britain five years ahead of other Western nations.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: <\/strong> \u2018Honest\u2019 Rishi: Nation won \u2019t and can\u2019t pay net zero bill<\/strong><\/p>\n Downing Street insiders insist that the PM was always clear about the need for changes to be proportionate, even when he was Chancellor in the Boris Johnson government that set out the plan.<\/p>\n But they say the cost of living crisis brought the situation into sharp focus and the more the PM looked into the impact of the targets, the more he realised it was time to make changes ahead of the impending \u201ccliff edge\u201d.<\/p>\n The Uxbridge by-election result, which saw Labour defeated in a seat they were expected to win as a result of London mayor Sadiq Khan\u2019s hated Ulez charge \u201ccrystalised\u201d the sense that people will not sit back if they think new rules and taxes are unfair.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/139\/590x\/secondary\/4970080.jpg?r=1695247352374\")
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