Labour energy plan backed by Sir Patrick Vallance just ‘a logo’, says Sunak
Rishi Sunak claimed his experts do not back Labour’s policy for Great British Energy.
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Your support makes all the difference.Labour’s plan for a publicly owned energy firm – backed by former chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance – is just “a logo”, the Prime Minister has said.
Rishi Sunak claimed his experts do not back the policy, after Sir Patrick told The Times that the race to net zero carbon emissions requires “vaccine-style” speed.
Labour unveiled a logo for its proposed Great British Energy company on Thursday.
On the campaign trail this week, Sir Keir Starmer claimed setting up a state-owned energy firm could benefit coastal communities in Scotland where “oil and gas is running out”, and reduce billpayers’ reliance on the international oil market susceptible shocks such as the conflict in Ukraine.
Asked for his reaction to Sir Patrick writing in support of Labour’s flagship policy in The Times, the Prime Minister said: “All this new policy is, is a logo. You don’t deliver energy security for our country with a logo.
“There’s a clear choice on this issue. My view is we have to prioritise this country’s energy security, that’s why we’ll continue to support Britain’s North Sea energy industry.
“That’s not something that the Labour Party supports, they will ban further energy exploration there even though independent experts all say that we need that energy for decades to come.
“On top of that, I’ll make sure we get to net zero in a proportionate way that does not load up ordinary families with thousands of pounds worth of costs.
“So yes, we’ll get to net zero, but I will do it in a way that prioritises our country’s energy security and household bills.
“All we’ve seen from the Labour Party today is a logo. And as our experts have described their ideas: they’re incoherent, incredible and completely unachievable.”
This is a mission that should go beyond party politics
The former chief scientific adviser, who appeared on TV screens with Mr Sunak throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, told The Times that Labour’s pledge to decarbonise British energy supplies by 2030 “can be done, and can be done fast”.
He wrote the Covid-19 vaccine rollout “became possible” when “government, academia and industry came together”.
Sir Patrick said: “If Britain takes a lead we can be the innovators and implementers, and both help ourselves and export solutions to the world.
“If we choose to go slowly others will provide the answers and we will ultimately end up buying the solutions rather than selling them.
“Getting to a clean power system fast and with appropriate technologies is an investment, not simply a cost.”
He also wrote: “This is a mission that should go beyond party politics. It is about our security, the cost of living, job opportunities of the future and the climate.”
On a visit to Airbus Defence and Space in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, this week, Sir Keir Starmer called for a “grown-up attitude” towards its bid for “clean power by 2030”.
The Labour leader said: “Oil and gas has done us really well as a country for many, many years, since we’ve been using the North Sea, but the oil and gas is running out and, therefore, there’s going to have to be a transition.”
So it’s no good Rishi Sunak putting his head in the sand or pretending none of this is happening because you can’t let down the next generation
Sir Keir added: “We got to the end of meaningful life for coal and the Government didn’t have a plan. And some communities across the country are still feeling the effects of that because the Government didn’t have a plan for the future.
“So it’s no good Rishi Sunak putting his head in the sand or pretending none of this is happening because you can’t let down the next generation.
“And go and talk to the workers in Aberdeen who are in the energy sector. They know that oil and gas is coming to an end. What they want to know is – what’s the future for my job?”
He continued: “I want to see secure work for them and that’s why the transition to renewables is so important, and I think there are tens of thousands of jobs there for the future – and it will bring the price down permanently.”
Sir Keir claimed alternative renewable sources would give the UK more “control over what happens in this country” if conflicts affect global energy prices.
Rishi Sunak is not the only party leader to have criticised Labour’s flagship policy.
Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said Labour’s plan failed to “meet the demands of the climate crisis”, saying: “Compared to Labour’s original commitment to spend £28 billion a year on green investment, this announcement of just £8.3 billion over the course of the parliament looks tiny and is nowhere near enough to deliver Labour’s promise of ‘clean electricity’.”