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.
Keir 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.”
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.
“Green and growth don’t just go together – they’re inseparable. The future wealth of this country is in our air, in our seas, and in our skies. Britain should harness that wealth and share it with all.
“British power to the British people.”
Keir Sstage after giving his keynote address during the Labour Party Conference at the ACC Liverpool. Picture date: Tuesday September 27, 2022.
Sir Keir Starmer kisses his wife Victoria after making his keynote address
Conservatives ‘have ripped out the foundations of Britain’
The Labour leader’s speech came after days of financial market uncertainty driven by Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget – something which he said the public should “not forgive and not forget”.
Sir Keir accused the Tories of chocking the aspirations of working people with their trickle-down economics approach, saying they crashed the pound and lost control of the economy “to give tax cuts to the rich”.
He said the Conservatives have harmed the UK over the last 12 years.
“They used to lecture us about fixing the roof when the sun was shining.
“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,” he said.
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The Labour Leader said the Conservative Party had ‘failed to fix the roof’ of the economy
Sir Keir said the problems don’t stop with the economy, saying there is “raw sewage in our rivers” and “backlogs everywhere”.
He went onto paint a picture of what the UK would look like under a Labour government, saying the cost of living crisis will be over, “clouds of anxiety have lifted”, services are where they are needed and the economy is stable while the NHS is “back in good health”.
Referencing a woman he met in Grimsby, he said people in the UK are surviving, not living, but under a Labour government, they would be “thriving not surviving”.
‘Party of homeownership’
In another policy announcement, Sir Keir said Labour wants to increase home ownership 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.
Sir Keir Starmer pledged to create a publicly owned energy company and increase home ownership.
Sir Keir said Scotland’s success in the UK “is met with gritted teeth”.
“We can’t work with them, we won’t work with them, no deal under any circumstances,” he said.
He pledged to make a “fairer greener more dynamic Scotland” – in a “Labour Britain”.
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‘Party of the centre ground’
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”.
He said: “Britain will get its future back, a country where aspiration is rewarded, where working people succeed.
“A force for good in the world, a clean energy superpower, a fairer, greener, more dynamic nation.
“This is my commitment to you. The national mission of the next Labour government.”
Sir Keir won no fewer than 10 standing ovations during his confident and assured 50-minute speech.
Speaking afterwards, Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby that the speech showed how passionate he is, after suggestions from some quarters that he is boring and perhaps lacking in personality.
Sir Keir ‘exactly what we need’
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“”These are really great ideas that are going to propel us into the world stage.”
The buoyant frontbencher was a supporter of former leader Jeremy Corbyn and is generally seen as more to the left of the party than Sir Keir – but she was insistent Labour is now the party of the centre ground and the party that can win an election.
“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.
And in a message to the Tory government, she added: “Do not completely trash our country before we take it over.”
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”.
And the Adam Smith Institute, a free market think tank said, it is not confident in Sir Keir’s plan for a national green energy company, saying previous attempts at state-owned energy “resulted in massive subsidies and taxpayer-funded bailout.”
The Conservatives also hit back at Sir Keir’s attack, saying there was nothing new in the speech “no matter how much he tries to emulate Tony Blair”.
“It is the Conservatives that are taking the bold action needed to get Britain moving and deliver more jobs and higher wages,” a spokesperson for the party said.
A man has been found dead among the debris following an explosion at a house in Nottinghamshire.
Emergency services were called to John Street, Worksop, on Saturday evening after reports that a house had collapsed in the blast, and a major incident was declared.
Nottinghamshire Police said on Sunday afternoon that the body of a man in his 50s was later recovered in the wreckage and, despite the best efforts of emergency services, he died at the scene.
The explosion destroyed a terraced property in John Street. Pic: PA
Nearby homes were evacuated following the blast. Pic:: PA
Firefighters from the town were joined at the scene by crews from Warsop and Mansfield, and Clowne in Derbyshire, after the incident happened at 7.39pm.
The terraced property was “partially destroyed” and neighbouring homes suffered “significant damage”, Nottinghamshire Police said, with people evacuated from multiple properties.
Videos posted on social media showed the front of a terraced house blown out and the roof collapsed, while neighbouring houses suffered damage to windows.
A Facebook user reported a “huge” bang that shook the surrounding properties, while another described “a terrific bang, like a very loud firework”.
Chief Inspector Clive Collings, from Nottinghamshire Police, described it as “an extremely serious incident that has led to a man’s untimely death”.
Nearby houses were evacuated
Pic: YappApp
He said the incident “will have come as a shock to the community in Worksop” and specially trained officers are supporting the man’s family, who have been told of his death.
“Anyone who may have been in the area at the time is now accounted for,” he added.
Chief Inspector Collings said the cordon and road closures will probably remain in place for some time while investigations continue.
Multiple residents from in and around John Street were asked to leave, he said, and are being supported by Nottinghamshire County Council staff.
He warned people against using drones as flying a drone over or near an ongoing emergency response without permission is an offence.
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An emergency bill to save British Steel’s Scunthorpe blast furnaces has become law.
The urgent legislation gives ministers the power to instruct British Steel to keep the plant open.
The bill was rushed through the House of Commons and House of Lords in one day, with MPs and peers being recalled from recess to take part in a Saturday sitting for the first time in over 40 years.
Emergency bill becomes law – follow the latest reaction here
An emergency bill to save British Steel’s Scunthorpe blast furnaces has passed. Pic: Reuters
After passing through both houses of parliament, the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill was granted royal assent by the King.
The bill gives the government the power to take control of British Steel – or any other steel asset – “using force if necessary”, order materials for steelmaking and instruct that workers be paid. It also authorises a jail sentence of up to two years for anyone breaching this law.
Sir Keir Starmer hailed the legislation for “turning the page on a decade of decline”, adding “all options are on the table to secure the future of the industry”.
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What is the future of British Steel?
It will mean the steel plant in Scunthorpe will continue to operate as the government decides on a long-term strategy, and steelmaking in the UK more broadly.
Officials from the Department for Business and Trade arrived at the site before the bill had even passed, Sky News understands.
Earlier, staff from the plant’s ousted Chinese owners Jingye were denied access, with police called over a “suspected breach of peace” – though officers found “no concerns”.
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The role of steel in the UK economy
Ministers took the unusual step of recalling parliament from its recess to sit on Saturday after negotiations with Jingye appeared to break down.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the measures within the bill were “proportionate and necessary” to keep the Scunthorpe blast furnaces open and protect both the UK’s primary steelmaking capacity and the 3,500 jobs involved.
The emergency legislation stops short of full nationalisation of British Steel, but Mr Reynolds told MPs that public ownership remained the “likely option” for the future.
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During the debate, several Conservative MPs, Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice and the Liberal Democrats’ deputy leader Daisy Cooper all spoke in favour of nationalisation.
MPs had broken up for the Easter holidays on Tuesday and had not been due to return until Tuesday 22 April.
The business secretary accused Jingye of failing to negotiate “in good faith” after it decided to stop buying enough raw materials to keep the blast furnaces at Scunthorpe going.
But the Conservatives said the government should have acted sooner, with shadow leader of the house Alex Burghart accusing ministers of making “a total pig’s breakfast” of the situation regarding British Steel.
The government was also criticised for acting to save the Scunthorpe plant but not taking the same action when the Tata Steel works in Port Talbot were threatened with closure.
A major incident has been declared in Nottinghamshire after a gas explosion caused a house to collapse.
There is still a “substantial emergency service presence” in place after the explosion in John Street, Worksop just after 7.30pm on Saturday.
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) declared it a “major incident” and said “multiple houses in and around John Street have been evacuated”. Nearby Crown Place Community Centre has been opened as a “place of safety”, the service said. Around 20 people have sought refuge there, Sky News camera operator James Evans-Jones said from the scene.
Videos posted on social media showed the front of a terraced house blown out with the roof collapsed, while neighbouring houses had their windows damaged.
NFRS said in a statement late on Saturday: “This has now been declared a major incident, and we are likely to be on scene throughout the night and even into Sunday morning.”
The fire service said it was called to the scene at 7.39pm.
The back of the property where the explosion happened in Worksop. Pic: YappApp
Pic: YappApp
“This is a gas explosion involving a house that has been significantly damaged,” the service said in a previous statement.
One person posted on Facebook that they heard “a terrific bang, like a very loud firework” as they turned into Gladstone Street from Gateford Road.
“I thought the back end had blown off my car,” they said. “A house in John Street has had, presumably, a gas explosion!”
Emergency services at the scene on Saturday. Pic: YappApp
NFRS said it was also called to a separate incident shortly afterwards but does not believe the two are connected.
Ten fire engines were sent to the scene of the industrial fire in nearby Holgate Road in The Meadows, Nottingham.
“The building has been severely damaged but there are no reports of any injuries,” NFRS said.
Having been called to the incident at 8.11pm, NFRS said at around 10.30pm that it was scaling its response down with the flames “now under control”.
NFRS’s group manager Leigh Holmes said from the scene just after 11pm: “We will begin to relax the cordon in the next hour as we continue to scale down this incident.”
A damaged building at The Meadows in Nottingham. Pic: NFRS
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