Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, joined by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, will make a pledge on Friday to prioritize the development of clean power across the United Kingdom if his party wins the general election. The announcement will take place at an event in Scotland, where Starmer will reiterate his plans for Great British Energy, first introduced at the party’s conference in 2022.
Great British Energy, a publicly owned company headquartered in Scotland, aims to generate green energy within the country and decrease energy costs for citizens. The Labour Party claims this initiative will help alleviate the ongoing cost of living crisis. The Conservatives, however, have dismissed it as a “vanity project” of former Labour leader Ed Miliband, accusing it of being a burden on taxpayers.
Sir Keir will outline the initial investments that will be made in wind and solar projects within weeks. As Great British Energy grows, it will also explore other renewable energy sources such as floating offshore wind, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage. The party hopes that this will make Scotland a global leader in cutting-edge clean energy technologies.
The Labour Party plans to fund this project through a windfall tax on oil and gas companies. Sir Keir emphasized the importance of energy security for families, stating that the cost of living crisis was a direct result of the Conservatives’ failure to make Britain resilient against the volatile fossil fuel markets controlled by dictators like Putin.
“We have the power to change this,” Sir Keir said. “Our clean power mission with Great British Energy will give us control over our destiny and invest in affordable, clean, and homegrown energy. We will turn the page on the cost of living crisis.”
However, Conservative Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Claire Coutinho criticized the project, claiming it was unfunded and would lead to the loss of 2,000 jobs in the North Sea oil and gas industry. She also highlighted the Conservatives’ track record of keeping energy bills low and ensuring energy security while supporting new nuclear power and offshore wind projects.
The SNP’s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, also expressed concerns about the plan, stating that it would destroy 100,000 Scottish jobs and discourage investment in the country. He accused the Labour Party of taking Scotland’s energy wealth and using it to fund nuclear projects in England.
Despite the criticisms, Sir Keir received support from Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK’s pandemic-era scientific adviser, who praised the project in an article for The Times. He stated that the benefits of the plan, including lower energy bills, job creation, energy security, and climate leadership, were significant.
Campaign group Britain Remade also welcomed the plans, but its founder, Sam Richards, cautioned that the Labour Party must address the country’s outdated planning system to ensure the timely execution of the project.
Environmental campaigners Friends of the Earth also commended the plan but urged the Labour Party to take further action to reduce carbon emissions from transportation and heating.
On the campaign trail, the Conservatives will focus on tackling anti-social behavior, while the SNP will call for an emergency budget from the Labour Party to reverse austerity cuts and boost funding for the NHS.
The general election is set to take place soon, and all parties are making their final pitches to voters.
