Analysis shows that Labour’s mission to build up Britain’s
homegrown clean power resources will support the energy sector’s
creation of over 200,000 direct jobs and up to 300,000 indirect
jobs in the next seven years, including roles for skilled energy
engineers, construction workers, technicians, and service sector
jobs.
Labour’s plan will see new jobs across Britain’s world-leading
offshore wind industry in Scotland and the East Coast, hydrogen
in the North-West and Teesside, nuclear power in the South-East,
and solar power in the South and Midlands.
Jobs will include plumbers, electricians, engineers, and
technicians for new projects supported by the party’s National
Wealth Fund, which includes eight new battery factories, six
clean steel plants, nine renewable-ready ports, the world’s
largest hydrogen electrolyser plant and net-zero industrial
clusters in every region of the country.
In Scotland alone, Labour will double the number of jobs in low
carbon sectors by creating over 50,000 new jobs in Scotland’s
clean power sector. Driving forward with this plan to create a
clean power system will save Scottish households £8.4bn over the
rest of this decade - equivalent to cutting £475 off bills for
every family in Scotland every year to 2030.
Labour has pledged to tear down the barriers to clean power which
have been laid down by the Conservatives, from blocks in the
planning system to neglecting investment in national port
infrastructure.
Labour’s plan will free the UK from reliance on fossil fuel
dictators like Vladimir Putin, as well as saving UK households
money with cheaper energy bills.
The creation of GB Energy will increase Britain’s supply of
clean, home-grown energy and unleash our potential further with
thousands of good, well-paid jobs across our country.
MP, Labour’s Shadow Climate Change
Secretary, said:
“Labour will make Britain a clean energy superpower- not only so
we can slash energy bills and deliver energy security- but also
so we can rebuild Britain’s industrial heartlands with high
quality jobs.
“For too long, the Conservatives and SNPs have let over countries
get ahead in the race for the green jobs of the future. Britain
can win this global race- building new opportunities for our
construction industry, our engineers, and our electricians- but
we are being let down by a Conservative government that is left
behind in the changing room.
“Only Labour can make Britain a clean energy superpower to cut
bills and create good jobs, with our plan for a clean power
system by 2030, and with GB Energy, our publicly-owned energy
company to produce homegrown power for the British people.”
Ends
Notes
A Labour Government will:
- Act fast to make Britain a clean
energy superpower, leading the world with 100% clean power by
2030
- Establish Great British Energy a
new home-grown, publicly-owned national champion in clean power
generation.
- Create a National Wealth Fund to
build British industry and ensure the British people will benefit
from the long-term return that investments produce, with
investments in gigafactories, clean steel plants, renewable-ready
ports, green hydrogen and energy storage.
- Upgrade nineteen million cold,
draughty homes so that families have cheaper energy bills and
warm, future-proofed homes.
To achieve this target, by 2030 a Labour government would:
- Quadruple offshore wind with an
ambition of 55GW by 2030;
- Accelerate the pioneering floating
offshore wind technology by fast-tracking at least 5GW of
capacity;
- More than triple solar power to
over 50GW;
- More than double our onshore wind
capacity to 35GW;
- Double down on green hydrogen, with
10GW of production - twice the government’s target - for use
particularly in flexible power generation, storage, and
industrial processes like green steel;
- Ensure the long-term security of
nuclear power - getting projects at Sizewell and Hinkley over the
line, extending the lifetime of existing plants and backing new
nuclear and Small Modular Reactors;
- Invest in carbon capture and
storage and hydrogen to ensure that there is sufficient
zero-emission back-up power and storage for extended periods
without wind or sun, while maintaining a strategic reserve of
backup gas power stations to guarantee security of supply;
- Unleash marine and tidal power;
- Reform planning laws and build out
the grid
Against the backdrop of Labour’s mission to secure the highest
sustained growth in the G7 with good jobs and productivity growth
in every part of the country, the party are challenging the
government match the ambition, talent and hard work of people
across Britain, saying their plan will give communities written
off by the Tories the backing to make their full contribution.
The Conservatives and SNP have been severely criticised for their
failure to deliver good jobs in clean energy industries, after
decades of broken promises. Since President Biden’s Inflation
Reduction Act was passed last year, the USA has created nearly
ten times more clean energy jobs in just seven months than the UK
has in seven years.
The European Union has had their own response to the US Inflation
Reduction Act with their Net-Zero Industry Act, and Labour are
warning Britain will be left behind in the race for new
industries and economic growth. The Institute for Directors
recently called for a UK version of the Inflation Reduction Act
to “incentivise much-needed green investment.”