'Great British Energy': Starmer pledges new nationalised firm to bring down bills
27 September 2022, 16:14
Sir Kier Starmer announced that Labour will launch a new state-owned green energy company if they are elected to government at the next general election.
The opposition leader pledged that Labour would create Great British Energy in its first year of government, that would run on clean UK energy.
Keir Starmer will be interviewed by Nick Ferrari tomorrow morning, listen live on Global Player
He said the new company would take “advantage of the opportunities in clean British power, and because it’s right for jobs, because it’s right for growth, because it’s right for energy independence from tyrants like [Vladimir] Putin.”
Starmer said Great British Energy would be similar to France’s state owned EDF or Swednen’s Vattenfall. The company would partner with the private sector to increase capacity and establish the UK as a clean energy superpower with long-term energy security.
Starmer said: “Labour’s Green Prosperity Plan is a plan that will turn the UK into a green growth superpower. And driving the plan forward is a goal that will put us ahead of any major economy in the world. One hundred percent clean power by 2030.”
With @Keir_Starmer as Prime Minister, Labour will establish GB Energy.
— The Labour Party (@UKLabour) September 27, 2022
✅ A publicly-owned, renewable generation company.
✅ Harnessing the power of Britain’s sun, wind and waves to cut energy bills.
✅ Britain will be an energy independent superpower. pic.twitter.com/RbDPTqUWsM
He acknowledged that there would be "tough battles on issues like planning and regulation", but Great British Energy would be key to getting the UK to net-zero emissions by 2030.
The Labour leader’s keynote speech at the party’s Liverpool conference came after days of financial market uncertainty in the wake of Chancellor Kwasi Kwateng’s mini-budget.
He told Labour members that Liz Truss’s government had crashed the UK economy to offer tax cuts to the richest 1%, something in which he said the public should not forgive the Conservatives for.
Starmer added that the Conservative government "haven't just failed to fix the roof, they've ripped out the foundations, smashed through the windows and now they've blown the doors off for good measure".
He promised that his Labour government would "get us out of this endless cycle of crisis" with a "fresh start, a new set of priorities and a new way of governing".
Labour’s Ed Miliband, the Shadow Secretary for Climate and Net Zero, said: “Labour will deliver an energy system for people and planet. Foreign governments own large parts of our energy system, and reap the wealth that flows from it.
“As we implement our clean power plan, it’s time to have our own publicly-owned domestic champion in energy generation, creating wealth and jobs in Britain.”
