Ed Miliband and fellow ministers responsible for net zero policy have been slammed as “hypocrites” after they accumulated more than 150,000 air miles since Labour entered government.
The overseas travel bill for taxpayers has reached nearly £160,000, covering flights, hotels and associated expenses across 33 separate journeys since July 2024.
It led to net zero ministers being dubbed “hypocrites” after Labour increased taxes on frequent flyers to record levels as part of efforts to promote environmentally friendly travel alternatives.
Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho branded the travel record hypocritical, arguing that ministers were preaching environmental responsibility whilst themselves contributing to aviation emissions through extensive international trips.
Mr Miliband himself has personally logged over 50,000 air miles across nine separate trips, costing the public purse £87,000.
His inaugural overseas visit came just weeks after assuming office, when he embarked on a 9,000-mile return journey to Belem in northern Brazil for a six-day trip that officials said was intended to “signal Britain’s resurgent ambition for global leadership on international climate”.
The Energy Secretary subsequently attended green conferences in New York, Washington and Azerbaijan’s capital Baku during late 2024, before travelling to New Delhi and controversially to Beijing in early 2025 as part of Labour’s diplomatic outreach to China.
“It is the height of hypocrisy that Ed Miliband and his ministers have flown six times around the world, all while lecturing the rest of us in the name of saving the planet,” Ms Coutinho said.
Ed Miliband and his net-zero ministers have been accused of ‘hypocrisy’ after they accumulated more than 150,000 air miles
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“Closer to home, it’s ordinary Brits who are suffering thanks to Ed’s policies which are pushing up everyone’s energy bills.
“He should back our Cheap Power Plan to cut everyone’s electricity bills by 20 per cent now,” she added, per The Telegraph.
Kerry McCarthy, the former climate minister who lost her position in September’s reshuffle, emerged as the department’s most frequent flyer.
She undertook 16 overseas trips during her tenure, visiting destinations including Rio de Janeiro, Trinidad and Tobago, Miami, New York, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Tazpayers were billed £160,000 for flights, hotels and associated expenses across 33 separate journeys
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One journey took her to Foz do Iguacu, location of the famous Iguazu Falls world heritage site, for an energy ministers’ gathering ahead of Brazil’s G20 summit in October last year.
A comparison of official data reveals that Labour’s net zero team slightly outpaced their Conservative predecessors in air travel.
Between July 2024 and June 2025, Labour ministers recorded approximately 135,000 air miles, compared with roughly 127,000 miles logged by six Tory ministers during the previous twelve months.
Beyond ministers, government climate adviser Nigel Topping accumulated 40,000 air miles over twelve months attending environmental conferences, despite having previously supported taxation on frequent flyers.
Claire Coutinho has previously accused Ed Miliband of ‘leading Britons down the garden path’ with his Net Zero policy
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GB NEWSHis travels during that period took him to Barbados, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the Netherlands and the United States.
Defending the ministerial travel record, a spokesman for the net zero department said: “We make no apologies for ministers travelling around the country and abroad, fighting for investment, jobs, energy security and action on the climate crisis for Britain.
“All government ministerial travel is undertaken using the most efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements, and the emissions we can save by becoming a clean energy superpower will dwarf air miles accumulated from flights,” they added.