Transition to clean energy ‘race of our lifetime’, says Starmer – as he defends North Sea oil pledge
Sir Keir Starmer has said the end of oil and gas extraction “has to happen eventually” and the “moment for decisive action is now”.
In a speech laying out his party’s green agenda, the Labour leader called the transition to clean energy “the race of our lifetime” as he sought to reassure industrial communities that his plans would not leave them behind.
Sir Keir said that 50,000 new jobs could be created in Scotland alone, amid a dispute with unions over his pledge to ban new North Sea oil and gas exploration.
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“I know the ghosts industrial change unearths,” he told the audience in Leith.
“As a young lawyer, I worked with mining communities to challenge the Tories’ pit closure programme, but deep down we all know this has to happen eventually and that the only question is when.
“So in all candour, the reality is this, the moment for decisive action is now.”
Sir Keir said 90% of North Sea oil and gas has already been extracted or licensed to be extracted.
He insisted that not moving ahead with the transition to clean energy would represent a missed opportunity for British workers, following concerns about job losses and damage to the local economy.
“We’ve got to seize the new opportunities, this is the race of our lifetime and the prize is real,” Sir Keir said.
Despite his reassurances, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said “actions speak louder than words”.
“Oil and gas workers need concrete, fully costed plans that will provide cast iron guarantees that they will not be thrown under a bus in the transition to net zero.
“I have said before that we can’t have a repeat of the devastation wrought on workers and their communities by the closure of the coal mines.
“Keir is now agreeing with that, but actions speak louder than words. There can be no room for any equivocation – promises are not enough.”
Starmer said the end of oil and gas extraction “has to happen eventually”
Labour’s ambition is to make the UK a clean energy superpower by 2030.
It argues the move is central, not only to tackling climate change, but also to reducing the cost of living crisis, growing the economy, improving energy security and creating jobs.
The party has vowed to take up to £1,400 off household bills and £53bn off energy bills for businesses by the end of the decade, aided by the creation of Great British Energy – a new, publicly owned company that will generate renewable sources.
Sir Keir has already pledged to set it up within a year if his party wins the next general election, and today revealed its headquarters will be based north of the border, calling it a “down payment for a new Scotland”.
British Industry Bonus ‘to create jobs in UK’
The Labour leader also announced a new “British Industry Bonus” – a £500m a year fund for energy companies that agree to manufacture in Britain’s industrial heartlands and coastal communities.
The move emulates the thinking behind Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act – a landmark package of subsidies for any companies planning to make green products or invest in green energy in the US.
While the Conservatives have expressed scepticism over the measure, Sir Keir claimed the act is “setting the pace”, adding: “In seven months they’ve (the US) created more jobs than we have in seven years, but they’re not the only ones and in truth, we’ve never been on this pitch.”
Speaking later to Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby, he said the bonus is intended to “make sure that the jobs are here in the UK”, claiming that “whenever I go to a windfarm or any other infrastructure project and ask where were these were made, the answer is always somewhere else”.
Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby interviews the Labour leader about his clean energy plan
Labour ‘doesn’t understand climate crisis’
Another central pillar of Labour’s green plan is to axe the ban on new onshore wind within months of entering government.
The details were set out just weeks after shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves faced criticism for watering down the £28bn a year spending commitment to fund the changes, blaming rising interest rates and the “damage” the Conservatives have done to the economy.
Environment charity Friends of the Earth praised Labour for being “strong on climate rhetoric” but said clarity is needed on the pace of the fossil fuel phase out and green investment.
The Green Party also questioned the scale of Labour’s net zero ambition, after it said it will not roll back any licenses granted by the Conservatives before the next election, including the proposed Rosebank oil and gas field.
The Scottish Greens said this shows they “do not understand the climate crisis”.
The party’s climate spokesperson, MSP Mark Ruskell, said: “Unless Labour is willing to state categorically that it will scrap Rosebank then they will have lost all credibility on our climate.”
He said if the Tories lose the next election, “only Labour are capable of stopping this environmental disaster from going ahead – but they have said they won’t”.
Royal Mail is to be allowed to scrap Saturday second-class stamp deliveries, under a series of reforms proposed by the communications regulator.
From 28 July, Royal Mail will also be allowed to deliver second-class letters on alternate weekdays, Ofcom said.
The post will still be delivered within three working days of collection from Monday to Friday.
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The proposals had already been raised by Ofcom after a consultation was announced in 2024, and the scale back was proposed early this year.
Royal Mail had repeatedly failed to meet the so-called universal service obligation to deliver post within set periods of time.
Those delivery targets are now being revised downwards.
Rather than having to have 93% of first-class mail delivered the next day, 90% will be legally allowed.
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The sale of Royal Mail was approved in December
The target for second-class mail deliveries will be lowered from 98.5% to arrive within three working days to 95%.
A review of stamp prices has also been announced by Ofcom amid concerns over affordability, with a consultation set to be launched next year.
It’s good news for Royal Mail and its new owner, the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. Ofcom estimates the changes will bring savings of between £250m and £425m.
A welcome change?
Unsurprisingly, the company welcomed the announcement.
“It is good news for customers across the UK as it supports the delivery of a reliable, efficient and financially sustainable universal service,” said Martin Seidenberg, the group chief executive of Royal Mail’s parent company, International Distribution Services.
“It follows extensive consultation with thousands of people and businesses to ensure that the postal service better reflects their needs and the realities of how customers send and receive mail today.”
Citizens Advice, however, doubted whether services would improve as a result of the changes.
“Today, Ofcom missed a major opportunity to bring about meaningful change,” said Tom MacInnes, the director of policy at Citizens Advice.
“Pushing ahead with plans to slash services and relax delivery targets in the name of savings won’t automatically make letter deliveries more reliable or improve standards.”
Acknowledging long delays “where letters have taken weeks to arrive”, Ofcom said it set Royal Mail new enforceable targets so 99% of mail has to be delivered no more than two days late.
Changing habits
Less than a third of letters are sent now than 20 years ago, and it is forecast to fall to about a fifth of the letters previously sent.
According to Ofcom research, people want reliability and affordability more than speedy delivery.
Royal Mail has been loss-making in recent years as revenues fell.
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In response to Ofcom’s changes, a government spokesperson said: “The public expects a well-run postal service, with letters arriving on time across the country without it costing the earth. With the way people use postal services having changed, it’s right the regulator has looked at this.
“We now need Royal Mail to work with unions and posties to deliver a service that people expect, and this includes maintaining the principle of one price to send a letter anywhere in the UK”.
Ofcom said it has told Royal Mail to hold regular meetings with consumer bodies and industry groups to hear their experiences implementing the changes.
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