Starmer pledges to cut bills by scrapping onshore wind farm ban and speeding up green energy projects

Sir Keir Starmer will pledge to “cut bills, create jobs and provide energy security” by scrapping the ban on new onshore wind farms and removing planning barriers standing in the way of green initiatives.

In a speech on Monday, the Labour leader is expected to set out new targets to reduce the time taken to complete clean power projects from “years to months”.

The party has also committed to a local power plan which it says will allow households across the UK to receive discounts on their bills if their area signs up to new green initiatives.

Sir Keir will set out how a new public body, GB Energy, will collaborate with councils, communities and the private sector to bring down energy costs.

The power plan would be directly owned by local people, with profits from the energy sold to the grid from local renewable energy schemes being returned to the community through discounts on bills for households in need, Labour said.

GB Energy will make available up to £600m in funding for councils and up to £400m in low-interest loans each year for communities, it claims.

The ban on new onshore wind would also be axed within months of a Labour government coming to power and measures would be introduced to ensure relevant regulators has a net zero mandate.

The party is pledging to take up to £1,400 off household bills and £53bn off energy bills for businesses by 2030 with its plans.

Speaking in Scotland with Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, and shadow energy secretary Ed Miliband, the Labour leader will say: “We can cut bills, create jobs and provide energy security for Britain – that’s what a Labour government will deliver.

“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.

“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.”

In his speech, Sir Keir is expected to make promises on planning reform, procurement and long-term finance.

He will say: “A new plan for a new settlement. A clear direction across all four nations. Pulling together for a simple, unifying priority: British power for British jobs.

“This is the race of our lifetime – and the prize is real.”

The party will hope the latest announcement builds confidence in its commitment to green energy initiatives after recently drawing criticism from environmental campaigners for retreating from its £28bn-a-year green prosperity plan spending pledge.

Labour had promised in 2021 to invest £28bn a year until 2030 in green projects if it came to power.

The figure will now be a target to work towards in the second half of a first parliament, the party has said, citing the changed economic backdrop of the last two years.

Mr Sarwar said he wants Scotland and the UK to “lead the world in the green revolution” as he spoke ahead of the party announcing more details about its plans.

He told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show: “We want to use the strength of the UK treasury to legitimately deliver a green revolution in our country and our plans are rooted in four key principles, the first is more jobs not less jobs, second, lower bills not higher bills, third, greater energy security and less reliance on imports from despotic regimes like Russia, and fourth is climate leadership.”

The Scottish Labour leader insisted there would be “no cliff edge” caused by the party’s policy to ban new oil and gas extraction licences in the North Sea, which the Conservatives have said will lead to job losses, because all existing ones will be “honoured”.

Environmental campaigners welcomed the plans, but warned they must be matched with adequate investment in order to succeed.

Mike Childs, head of science, policy and research at Friends of the Earth, said: “With plans for communities to benefit from local clean power projects and a commitment to lift the ban on onshore wind, Labour is saying many of the right things on energy policy.

“But to have a credible climate plan in place, there can be no backsliding on pledges to stop new oil and gas extraction and invest in green growth.

“The climate crisis is the greatest threat the world faces. Sir Keir Starmer needs to make it clear that the fossil fuels era is over, and the only viable future is a zero-carbon economy. This means urgently investing in a street-by-street insulation programme and cheap, homegrown renewables to cut emissions, boost the economy, create new jobs, increase energy security and help bring down our energy bills for good.”

Meanwhile, the Conservatives claimed the plan would appease “eco-zealots” and sought to draw links between Labour and Just Stop Oil, with which it has shared a donor.

A party spokesman said: “Labour’s Energy Surrender Plan, written by Just Stop Oil, appeases their eco-zealot paymasters but does nothing for Britain’s long-term energy security.

“You cannot trust Labour to take tough decisions on Britain’s energy security because Keir Starmer is a hostage to extremists in his party and his Just Stop Oil funders. Even the trade unions know Labour is wrong.”