A Labour government would cut energy bills, create jobs and provide more secure power by sweeping away barriers getting in the way of green projects, the leader of Britain’s opposition party will pledge on Monday.
Keir Starmer will vow to make Britain a “clean energy super power” by 2030, according to excerpts of a speech he plans to deliver in Scotland that were released by the Labour Party.
Proposals include lifting a ban on new onshore wind within months of taking office and cutting the time taken to complete clean power projects from years to months with “tough new targets.”
It is also understood the Labour leader will unveil plans for a new public body GB Energy, to be based in Scotland, in a bid to win over voters.
The taxpayer-owned company would be created to build jobs and supply chains, together with a National Wealth Fund to invest alongside the private sector in gigafactories, clean steel plants, renewable-ready ports, green hydrogen and energy storage.
Still a no to new oil
However, there are reports that Labour will maintain its no new North Sea oil and gas exploration stance, but with a greater focus on helping workers to benefit from low carbon projects.
Starmer is seeking to boost confidence in Labour’s commitment to green energy after the party scaled back its plan to invest £140 billion ($180 billion) over five years on a clean energy transition because of cost concerns. It now plans to “ramp up” to £28 billion a year, rather than deliver that figure from the beginning of the next parliamentary term.
Labour, which has a double-digit lead in opinion polls over Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives, is hoping a strong climate policy will help it win votes at the next election. A vote, due by January 2025, is widely expected to be held next year.
“We’ve got to roll up our sleeves and start building things, run towards the barriers — the planning system, the skills shortages, the investor confidence, the grid,” Starmer says in the excerpted comments.
“If the status quo isn’t good enough, we must find the reforms that can restart our engine. I’m not going to accept a situation where our planning system means it takes 13 years to build an offshore wind farm.”
Starmer will deliver his pledge alongside Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Shadow Energy Secretary Ed Miliband.
Britain would run on 100% clean power by 2030 under Labour, Starmer will say, cutting £1,400 off household bills and £53 billion off energy bills for businesses.
“2030, even with the best will in the world, I would say is impossible,” Phil Thompson, chief executive of clean energy developer Balance Power Group Ltd. said earlier this month. “We have to be super ambitious because the planet isn’t getting any cooler and it’s a case of shoot for the stars, but I think technically it’s not achievable unless someone has got a magic wand.”
Labour needs to make sure its backers in the unions are on board with its plans and there have already been signs of disquiet. Unions want to make sure fossil fuel jobs aren’t destroyed before enough new ones created.
A new public body, GB Energy, would be created to build jobs and supply chains, together with a National Wealth Fund to invest alongside the private sector in gigafactories, clean steel plants, renewable-ready ports, green hydrogen and energy storage.
Labour, which has a double-digit lead in opinion polls over Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives, is hoping a strong climate policy will help it win votes at the next election. A vote, due by January 2025, is widely expected to be held next year.
Starmer will deliver his pledge alongside Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, Reeves and Shadow Energy Secretary Ed Miliband. They will seek to show a united front despite internal tensions over the move to row back the scale of investment.
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