An inconvenient truth: you can't sell the green revolution to people who can't afford it | Gaby Hinsliff

In a cost of living crisis, heat pumps and electric cars are out of reach for most. Britain needs to fund a genuinely fair transition - and fastIt can't be easy being Barbie. As if life wasn't tough enough for an ageing doll with a decorative dimwit for a boyfriend, this week she suffered the indignity of being dragged into a byelection.Or more precisely, her bright pink classic Corvette did. In easily the most excruciating moment of an already awkward attempt to cling on to Boris Johnson's old Uxbridge seat, Tory HQ briefly tried to enliven its main line of attack by suggesting to friendly newspapers that if Barbie for some unexplained reason rocked up in the suburbs, she might have to pay ?12.50 for breaching mayor Sadiq Khan's ultra-low emission zone (Ulez), due to be extended to the capital's outer fringes from August. At the time of writing, the voters' verdict on this one is still hotly awaited. But whatever the outcome, hiding behind a dolly feels like the kind of political low point nobody gets over in a hurry.Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...