Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer vows to kick off clean energy plans ‘within months’ if party wins general election
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will vow on Friday to “get working within months to build clean power across the United Kingdom” if his party wins the general election.
At an event in Scotland – and joined by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar – the prime ministerial hopeful will reiterate his plans for Great British Energy, first announced at the party’s conference in 2022.
Headquartered north of the border, the new, publicly owned company will generate homegrown green energy up and down the country, with the party claiming it will help to “turn the page” on the cost of living crisis by driving down bills.
But the Conservatives claimed it was a “vanity project” of former Labour leader – and now shadow energy security and net zero secretary – Ed Miliband, that will “leave taxpayers picking up the bill”.
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Sir Keir will outline how initial investments will be made within weeks, including in wind and solar projects, and as the firm grows, it will look into floating offshore wind, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage, in the hope of making Scotland “a world-leader in cutting edge technologies”.
The party said the pledge would be paid for through a windfall tax on oil and gas companies.
Sir Keir will say: “Family financial security depends on energy security. The pain and misery of the cost of living crisis was directly caused by the Tories’ failure to make Britain resilient, leaving us at the mercy of fossil fuel markets controlled by dictators like Putin.
“It doesn’t have to be this way. Our clean power mission with Great British Energy will take back control of our destiny and invest in cheap, clean homegrown energy that we control.
“We will turn the page on the cost of living crisis. The choice at this election is clear – higher bills and energy insecurity with the Conservatives, or lower bills and energy security with Labour.”
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Sir Keir Starmer first announced the policy in 2022
But Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Claire Coutinho claimed the project was both unfunded and would “turn off the taps to North Sea oil and gas”, risking 2,000 jobs.
“By sticking to the Conservatives’ clear plan, energy bills are at the lowest point since 2022,” she added. “But we must go further.
“That’s why we are taking bold action to guarantee the future of the energy price cap, as we back new nuclear power and offshore wind, keeping bills low and ensuring families are not lumbered with the cost of reaching net zero.”
Rishi Sunak and Claire Coutinho will argue the Tories are better placed to bring down energy bills. Pic: Reuters
The SNP’s Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, had an even bleaker assessment of the plan, claiming it was “threatening to destroy 100,000 Scottish jobs and deter billions of pounds of investment”.
He added: “The fact is Starmer’s plans would take Scotland’s energy wealth and spend it on nuclear projects in England.
“In contrast, the SNP wants every penny to be spent in Scotland – reducing household bills, creating Scottish jobs, and securing our green energy future.
“It’s no wonder the Labour Party has given up campaigning in the North East and huge swathes of Scotland – because Starmer knows how deeply unpopular his damaging policies are.”
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Great British Energy got the backing of one campaign group, Britain Remade, who called it “hugely welcome”.
But its founder, Sam Richards, warned Labour “won’t be able to get spades in the ground as quickly as they need to – unlocking the benefits of cheap power and lower bills – unless they tackle head-on Britain’s outdated planning system”.
Environmental campaigners Friends of the Earth also called the plan “great news” but warned the Labour Party not to “rest on its laurels” when it came to reducing carbon pollution from transport and heating.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail on Friday, the Conservatives will be talking about tackling anti-social behaviour, unveiling plans to give fly-tippers points on their driving licenses, “kick out” anti-social tenants and roll out “hot spot” policing controls.
And the SNP will be making further demands on Labour, calling for them to hold an emergency budget straight after the election to “reverse Tory austerity cuts, boost NHS funding, and invest in economic growth”.
Migrants convicted of sex offences in the UK or overseas will be unable to claim asylum under government plans to change the law to improve border security.
The Home Office announcement means foreign nationals who are added to the sex offenders register will forfeit their rights to protection under the Refugee Convention.
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As part of the 1951 UN treaty, countries are allowed to refuse asylum to terrorists, war criminals and individuals convicted of a “particularly serious crime” – which is currently defined in UK law as an offence carrying a sentence of 12 months or more.
The government now plans to extend that definition to include all individuals added to the Sex Offenders’ Register, regardless of the length of sentence, in an amendment to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, which is currently going through parliament. It’s understood they also hope to include those convicted of equivalent crimes overseas.
Those affected will still be able to appeal their removal from the UK in the courts under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
More than 10,000 people have now been detected crossing the Channel. Pic: PA
It is unclear how many asylum seekers will be affected, as the government has been unable to provide any projections or past data on the number of asylum seekers added to the Sex Offenders’ Register.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Sex offenders who pose a risk to the community should not be allowed to benefit from refugee protections in the UK.
“We are strengthening the law to ensure these appalling crimes are taken seriously.”
Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls Minister Jess Philips said: “We are determined to achieve our mission of halving violence against women and girls in a decade.
“That’s exactly why we are taking action to ensure there are robust safeguards across the system, including by clamping down on foreign criminals who commit heinous crimes like sex offences.”
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The Home Office would like voters to see this as a substantial change. But that’s hard to demonstrate without providing any indication of the scale of the problem it seeks to solve.
Clearly, the government does not want to fan the flames of resentment towards asylum seekers by implying large numbers have been committing sex crimes.
But amid rising voter frustration about the government’s grip on the issue, and under pressure from Reform – this measure is about signalling it is prepared to take tough action.
Conservatives: ‘Too little, too late’
The Conservatives claim Labour are engaged in “pre-election posturing”.
Chris Philp MP, the shadow home secretary, said: “This is too little, too late from a Labour government that has scrapped our deterrent and overseen the worst year ever for small boat crossings – with a record 10,000 people crossing this year already.
“Foreign criminals pose a danger to British citizens and must be removed, but so often this is frustrated by spurious legal claims based on human rights claims, not asylum claims.”
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Has Labour tackled migration?
The Home Office has also announced plans to introduce a 24-week target for appeal hearings (known as “first-tier tribunals”) to be held for rejected asylum seekers living in taxpayer-supported accommodation, or for foreign national offenders.
The current average wait is 50 weeks. The idea is to cut the asylum backlog and save taxpayers money – Labour have committed to end the use of asylum hotels by the end of this parliament.
It’s unclear how exactly this will be achieved, although a number of additional court days have already been announced.
The government also plans to crack down on fake immigration lawyers who advise migrants on how to lodge fraudulent asylum claims, with the Immigration Advice Authority given new powers to issue fines of up to £15,000.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren has called on government officials to address questions related to US President Donald Trump’s memecoin and his media company.
In an April 25 letter to Jamieson Greer, acting director of the US Office of Government Ethics (OGE), Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts and California Democratic Senator Adam Schiff requested that officials address concerns about Trump’s memecoin after the president announced a dinner and White House tour for some of the individuals who held the most TRUMP tokens. The two senators requested that Greer provide information on safeguards and guidelines related to whether foreign actors and others could buy political influence with the president, potentially impacting his policy positions and federal pardons.
“President Trump’s announcement promises exclusive access to the presidency in exchange for significant investment in one of the President’s business ventures,” wrote the two senators.
“In promising such access, this proposition may implicate several federal ethics laws and constitutional prohibitions, including the federal bribery statute and emoluments clauses of the US Constitution. It also raises the troubling prospect that foreign actors are using the memecoin as a vector to buy influence with President Trump and his associates without needing to disclose their identities publicly.”
The letter was sent the same day Warren reportedly expressed similar concerns about Trump’s potential conflicts of interest with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to an April 25 Reuters report, the Massachusetts senator urged SEC Chair Paul Atkins to ensure that oversight of Trump’s media company was “free from undue political interference and influence from the President and his administration.”
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Though ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee, Warren does not have the authority to direct Congress’s agenda with Democrats in the minority. Two Democrats in the Senate and House of Representatives have already called for Trump’s impeachment over his memecoin dinner.
Warren added:
“The American people deserve the unwavering assurance that access to the presidency is not being offered for sale to the highest bidder in exchange for the President’s own financial gain.”
At the time of publication, it was unclear who among the top TRUMP memecoin holders would attend the dinner, scheduled to be held on May 22 at Trump’s golf club in Washington, DC. Speculation and analysis of users suggested that Trump supporters, including Tron founder Justin Sun, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and others, could attend, though none had been confirmed as of April 28.
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Crypto users betting on the outcome of the snap election to determine the next Prime Minister of Canada appear to be favoring a Liberal Party victory as residents head to cast their votes.
As of April 28, cryptocurrency betting platform Polymarket gave current Canadian Prime Minister and Liberal Party candidate Mark Carney a 79% chance of defeating Conservative Party candidate Pierre Poilievre in the race for the country’s next PM. Data from the platform showed users had poured more than $75 million into bets surrounding the race, predicting a Poilievre or Carney victory.
The odds suggested by the platform, as well as those from many polls, show a nearly complete reversal of fortunes between the two candidates after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigned in January. Trudeau and, by association, many in the Liberal Party, faced criticism over the handling of Canada’s housing crisis and questions about how he would face US President Donald Trump’s then-proposed tariffs.
Following Trudeau’s resignation, Trump stepped up rhetoric disparaging Canada, repeatedly referring to the country as the US’s “51st state” and Trudeau as its “governor.” The US President also imposed a 25% tariff on goods imported from Canada in March. The policies seem to have led to increasing anti-Trump sentiment in Canada, with many residents booing the US national anthem at hockey games and making comparisons between the president and Poilievre.
This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.
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