Labour pledges to create publicly owned energy company to ‘cut bills and create jobs’

Published

3 years ago

September 27, 2022

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Sir Keir Starmer has announced that a Labour government will create Great British Energy – a new, publicly owned company that will generate renewable sources “to cut bills, create jobs and deliver energy independence”.

The role of GB Energy will be to provide additional capacity alongside the private sector, to establish the UK as a clean energy superpower and guarantee long term energy security, the Labour leader said.

Many European, Asian, and American countries have public generating companies, like EDF in France.

Starmer delivers keynote speech – live updates

Delivering a keynote speech at the party conference in Liverpool, Sir Keir said the largest onshore wind farm in Wales is owned by Sweden, so “energy bills in Swansea are paying for schools and hospitals in Stockholm”.

He added: “The Chinese Communist Party has a stake in our nuclear industry. And five million people in Britain pay their bills to an energy company owned by France.

“Labour will set up Great British Energy within the first year of a Labour government. A new company that takes advantage of the opportunities in clean British power, because it’s right for jobs, because it’s right for growth, because it’s right for energy independence.”

Britain’s own EDF

A Labour Party source told Sky News the hope is that GB Energy will “eventually be an EDF”.

The announcement builds on Labour’s commitment to make the UK a clean energy superpower by 2030 and create a National Wealth Fund to invest in British industry.

Sir Keir said Labour “will make sure that the public money we spend building-up British industry, spurs on private investment, stimulates growth… and the British people enjoy the returns”.

He added: “Labour won’t make the mistake the Tories made with North Sea oil and gas back in the 1980s, where they frittered away the wealth from our national resources.

“The road to net-zero is no longer one of stern, austere, self-denial. It’s at the heart of modern, 21st century aspiration. Technology has turned everything on its head.”

Tories ‘have ripped out foundations of Britain’

The speech came after days of market uncertainty driven by Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget – something Sir Keir said the public should “not forgive and not forget”.

Sir Keir accused the Tories of crashing the pound and losing control of the economy “to give tax cuts to the rich”.

“They used to lecture us about fixing the roof when the sun was shining,” he said.

“But take a look around Britain, they haven’t just failed to fix the roof, they’ve ripped out the foundations, smashed through the windows, and now they’ve blown the doors off for good measure.”

Homes, Brexit, and Blair

In another policy announcement, Sir Keir said Labour wants to increase homeownership and will set a target of 70%, offering a new mortgage guarantee for first-time buyers to help more people get onto the housing ladder.

He also promised to make Brexit “work” – saying that is something voters won’t get from the Tories or SNP.

His condemnation of the SNP was well-received by the audience.

“We can’t work with them, we won’t work with them, no deal under any circumstances,” he said.

Sir Keir finished his speech by echoing former leader and prime minister Tony Blair.

He said Labour is “the party of the centre ground – once again the political wing of the British people”.

How was the speech received?

Sir Keir won no fewer than 10 standing ovations during his confident and assured 50-minute speech.

Deputy leader Angela Rayner told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby the speech showed how passionate he is, after suggestions from some quarters that he is boring and lacking in personality.

Ms Rayner was a supporter of former leader Jeremy Corbyn and has been generally seen as more to the left of the party than Sir Keir.

“I think he’s exactly what we need in this country at the moment, someone who’s got very clear ideas, very good ethics,” she said.

Starmer lays on patriotism thick in keynote speech

Liz Bates

Political correspondent

@wizbates

For anyone in doubt that Labour wants to be seen as a patriotic party under Sir Keir Starmer, the signs are not very subtle.

It started with kicking off the conference with the national anthem.

And it has culminated in Sir Keir giving his leader’s speech surrounded by British flags.

And the big announcement? Establishing a new state energy company called Great British Energy.

It doesn’t get much more patriotic than that.

Trade unions also praised the speech, with Frances O’Grady of the TUC calling it “inspirational” and UNSION saying a Labour government “can’t come soon enough”.

The speech was less well received by the SNP, who accused Labour of “turning into the Tories”.

The Conservatives also hit back, saying there was nothing new in the speech “no matter how much he tries to emulate Tony Blair”.

World

Zelenskyy demands ‘clear position’ from Trump on ending war

Published

4 hours ago

September 16, 2025

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Zelenskyy demands 'clear position' from Trump on ending war

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for a “clear position” from Donald Trump to stop Vladimir Putin and end the war in Ukraine.

In an exclusive interview with Sky News’ lead world presenter Yalda Hakim, the Ukrainian president said the only way for the fighting to stop was for defined security guarantees to first be put in place.

And that, he said, could only come if Mr Trump was bold.

He told Sky News he hopes UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer would drill into the detail of securing Ukraine’s future with the president during his state visit to Britain this week.

He said: “I very much hope he (Starmer) will be able to have a very specific discussion on the security guarantees of the US for Ukraine.

“Before we end the war, I really want to have all the agreements in place. I want to… have a document that is supported by the US and all European partners. This is very important.

“To make this happen, we need a clear position of President Trump.”

‘Make Putin afraid’

Mr Zelenskyy also urged the US leader to take “strong personal steps” to “stop Putin”, after Mr Trump urged NATO allies to stop buying Russian oil and put tariffs on China to pressure Moscow.

“I believe that the US is strong enough to take decisions of their own,” he said. “I believe Donald Trump can give us air defence systems in quantity and US has enough.

“I’m sure the US can apply enough sanctions in order to hurt the Russian economy, plus Donald Trump has enough force to make Putin afraid of him.

“Europe has already introduced 18 sanctions packages against Russia. And all that’s lacking now is a strong sanctions package from the US.”

His comments came following criticism in his interview with Sky News – at the Presidential Palace in Kyiv – of the recent Trump-Putin summit in Alaska.

He said Mr Trump “gave a lot to Putin” and that “he should have paid more” for it.

“I believe, if it was a trilateral meeting [with Ukraine included], we would have some result,” he added.

Putin ‘testing NATO’, warns Zelenskyy

As news broke that British fighter jets were flying air defence missions over Poland after a Russian drone incursion, Hakim asked the Ukrainian leader what message he thought Putin was sending to Europeans.

“He’s testing NATO,” he said. “He wants to see what NATO is ready for, what they’re capable of, both diplomatically and politically, and how the local population will respond to this.”

“Also, in my opinion, the other message they are sending is, ‘don’t you dare to give Ukraine additional air defence systems, because you might need them yourself.'”

Bristling with frustration – Zelenskyy’s message is clear

Yalda Hakim

Lead world news presenter

@SkyYaldaHakim

Ukraine’s president has a very clear message for Trump – you alone have the power to stop Putin, and the time to act is now.

Meeting with me in Kyiv on the eve of the US president’s state visit to Britain, Zelenskyy bristled with frustration at the failure of the Western powers to ramp up pressure on the Kremlin, even as the Russians escalated their attacks on Ukraine.

Asked if the summit between Trump and Putin in Alaska has proven a mistake, he responded without hesitation that Putin is clearly not paying a price for his actions.

Zelenskyy believes Trump is reluctant to put pressure on Putin because it might jeopardise attempts to end the war.

But the Ukrainian leader argues this isn’t the way to handle the Russian president.

Zelenskyy also argued Trump’s emphasis on getting the Europeans to ratchet up economic pressure – foremost by stopping their purchases of Russian energy and tariffing other buyers like China and India – was understandable, but that the world’s sole superpower shouldn’t wait for others to act.

Trump has called on EU countries to end all Russian oil and gas purchases – and only then will he consider imposing sanctions on Russia.

Mr Trump arrives in the UK today for an unprecedented second state visit, following an invitation from King Charles.

He and First Lady Melania will stay at Windsor Castle and be treated to a flypast by the Red Arrows as well as UK and US F-35 military jets on the east lawn, and a special Beating Retreat military ceremony.

They will also visit Chequers, the prime minister’s official country residence in Buckinghamshire, though details of what they will discuss – and whether it will include the situation in Ukraine – have not been revealed.

World

Face-to-face with Zelenskyy, his frustration with the West is clear

Published

7 hours ago

September 16, 2025

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Face-to-face with Zelenskyy, his frustration with the West is clear

Ukraine’s president has a very clear message for Donald Trump – you alone have the power to stop Vladimir Putin, and the time to act is now.

Meeting with me in Kyiv on the eve of the US president’s state visit to Britain, Volodymyr Zelenskyy bristled with frustration at the failure of the Western powers to ramp up pressure on the Kremlin, even as the Russians escalated their attacks on Ukraine.

Asked if the summit between Trump and Putin in Alaska has proven a mistake, he responded without hesitation that Putin is clearly not paying a price for his actions.

“He should have received a setback in this war and stop. Instead, he received de-isolation,” he said.

“He definitely wants to trick the US. He is doing everything he can to avoid sanctions, to prevent the US and Trump from putting sanctions on him.”

Zelenskyy believes Trump is reluctant to put pressure on Putin because it might jeopardise attempts to end the war.

But the Ukrainian leader argues this isn’t the way to handle the Russian president: “He understands force. That’s his language. That’s the language he understands. He doesn’t speak many languages, but that’s the language of force he understands – just like Russian, you know, his mother tongue.”

Zelenskyy also argued Trump’s emphasis on getting the Europeans to ratchet up economic pressure – foremost by stopping their purchases of Russian energy, and by putting tariffs on other buyers like China and India – was understandable, but that the world’s superpower shouldn’t wait for others to act.

Trump has called on EU countries to end all Russian oil and gas purchases, and only then will he consider imposing sanctions on Russia.

“I think the US is strong enough on its own,” Zelenskyy said.

“They can make this happen quicker and all that’s lacking now is a strong sanctions package from the US.”

World

Russia and Belarus’s military drills are part-theatre – but Moscow is trying to send a message

Published

10 hours ago

September 15, 2025

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Russia and Belarus's military drills are part-theatre - but Moscow is trying to send a message

At times, the sound of these military drills was deafening.

There were fighter jets screaming overhead, air strikes on “enemy” forces, and tracer rounds from artillery units pounding out of the barrels.

Fireballs and mushroom clouds would periodically appear far off on the landscape, followed by a sudden explosive thud several seconds later.

I was watching from the safety of a viewing platform, along with other members of the international media.

But even at that distance, the various blasts were still powerful enough to reverberate through me.

This was the fourth day of ‘Zapad-2025’ – the joint military drills Russia holds with Belarus roughly every four years.

It took place at a training ground near the city of Borisov in Belarus, 150km from the Lithuanian border.

Moscow and Minsk insist the exercises are “defensive”. In this case, they said they were gaming out how they would respond to an attack by a NATO member.

But as I watched, I couldn’t help feeling that the training aspect was only one part of it.

The other part felt like theatre – a show of strength designed to intimidate those watching across the border on Europe’s eastern flank.

The drills were smaller than previous years, most likely because Russia still needs its troops and equipment at the front in Ukraine.

But it still felt like Moscow was trying to send a message here – that despite the costs and casualties incurred fighting Kyiv, it’s still a force to be reckoned with.

For Belarus’s neighbours, these are anxious times. The last Zapad drills in 2021 were used as a springboard for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a few months later. And so this time, Poland has closed its border, and like Lithuania, it’s holding military drills of its own.

Afterwards, I tried to catch up with some of the defence dignitaries from foreign militaries, who had been invited to observe the drills. I wanted to see what they made of the show.

“A very good demonstration,” a senior officer from Pakistan told me, declining to give his name.

“It gives us an insight of how war is being fought, with new technologies, in this part of the world.”

But what about Poland’s concerns?

“Are they right to be nervous?” I asked. “Would you be nervous if you were next door?”

“Why would I be nervous?” he replied. “Being Pakistani, I know what I’m capable of. So I shouldn’t be nervous by somebody else doing exercises.”

“So NATO has no need to worry?” I continued.

“No, I don’t think so. NATO shouldn’t be worried.”

There were actually some representatives from NATO members among the observers.

Delegations from Hungary and Turkey are no surprise – both countries have good relations with Moscow – but a team from the United States did raise eyebrows.

A further sign, it seems, that the Trump administration is seeking to build bridges with the Kremlin, despite the lack of progress towards a Russia-Ukraine peace deal.

Unfortunately, none of those officials would answer my questions. Wary, perhaps, of sticking their head above the parapet, as the alliance seeks to present a united front.