RECENTLY, in sunny Leith, Keir Starmer and his team provided an update on their plans for the green transition.

As well as confirmation of pre-announced policies such as overturning the ban on onshore wind, a Labour government would also focus on the practical enablers such as ‘rewiring Britain’ to reduce the amount of time it takes to get new green generation plugged into the grid.

It’s interesting to contrast Labour’s approach with what the independent Committee on Climate Change has had to say about the current government. They asses that the UK has ‘lost its global leadership’ on climate change, with a lack of ‘political leadership’ blamed for ‘worrying slow’ progress on cutting carbon emissions.

I think it’ll be clear going into the next election that if you want green, vote Labour and you’ll get it. A vote for the Green Party on the other hand would just risk splitting the environmental vote. Furthermore, their track record in government is terrible. Witness the mess they made in Brighton, where they couldn’t even organise the bin collections. Or in Scotland, where their farcical deposit return scheme for recycling has been, well, sent for recycling.

In contrast, Labour’s position on the environment is ambitious yet pragmatic. I’m glad that the Labour leadership has listened to feedback from the GMB and other trade unions on North Sea oil and gas. Labour would hold no further licensing rounds but would allow existing discoveries to be developed subject to compatibility with the UK’s net zero by 2050 objective.

The Greens would be shutting down production as soon as they could – which would only lead to the UK importing oil and gas from hostile states such as Russia, or from the Middle East, with all the adverse climate impact of shipping and well site methane emissions.

There are some areas where I still think Labour has more to do on energy policy, though. Take for example energy bills for small businesses. As any reader will know after the recent turbulence, domestic consumers are protected by a heavily regulated marketed. For businesses, though, it’s the wild west.

Brokers can hoodwink business owners into signing new deals at thoroughly uncompetitive rates. They prey on the fact that owners are time poor, sending renewal emails without prices displayed and only 48 hours to object. They signed my micropub up to a new deal last November – winter being the worst time to renew for a customer, and the most profitable for the broker – despite the contract not expiring until this August. We’re still trying to get out of it.

I would like to see a Labour government extend some of the protection consumers get to small businesses up to a certain turnover.

GREG WILLIAMS
Dorset Labour