Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to reduce household bills by up to £300 should be a strategic priority for the new Great British Energy company, the Conservatives have said.
The Opposition said it wants to amend the Great British Energy Bill, which would enable the company to be established, to ensure Labour delivers on promises it made during the general election.
A separate Conservative amendment also seeks to make it a strategic priority for GB Energy to meet the Government’s commitment to create 650,000 jobs across the country by 2030.
GB Energy, once established, would be tasked with investing in and developing clean energy projects.
Our amendments will give Great British Energy a strategic priority to cut people's energy bills by £300 by 2030 and for Great British Energy to produce an annual progress report towards meeting that target
Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho said Prime Minister Sir Keir has an “optimism about Britain that charts somewhere between Eeyore and Victor Meldrew” as she moved the Tory amendments.
The Conservative MP highlighted Labour claims during the election that establishing GB Energy will help people cut their energy bills by up to £300 per year by 2030.
Ms Coutinho told the Commons: “These weren’t one-off promises, it was the party line as dictated by the Secretary of State. These promises are still up in writing.
“In fact, the Labour Party website still says that their energy plans would cut bills by £300 on average but oddly, ministers now don’t seem so keen on that pledge.
“We’ve asked them in this House, they’ve been asked by the media but the number seems to have vanished.”
Ms Coutinho added: “Every single Labour MP on the benches opposite will have had constituents vote for them because they believed that their promise of £300 off their energy bills will have made a meaningful difference to their lives.
“So amendments six and seven will hold the Government to account on their election promise to cut bills.
“Our amendments will give Great British Energy a strategic priority to cut people’s energy bills by £300 by 2030 and for Great British Energy to produce an annual progress report towards meeting that target.
“Surely all of those Labour MPs who have made the promises I’ve read out, who kept them up on all of their respective social media accounts, would want to track the Government’s progress on this important issue for their constituents.
“Well, tonight is their chance.”
Energy minister Michael Shanks said: “Great British Energy should be accountable, transparent and open in all of its dealings and how it is delivering a return on investment.
“And that’s why we have made provisions in the Bill to ensure that regular updates are given in the form of annual reports and accounts which will be laid before Parliament for all members to review and, of course, as a company it will undergo external audit in the usual manner.”
“We are unapologetic that Great British Energy is a long-term project for this country, as part of a sustainable long-term plan to protect billpayers for good. I standby that commitment today,” he added.
GB Energy chairman Juergen Maier, speaking during the Bill’s committee stage earlier this month, was asked when he expected GB Energy to bring down energy bills.
He said the “only way” to get energy bills down and to get greater energy security is to get “more renewable energy on the grid, adding: “The exact mechanism by which that happens is, of course, a matter of policy — how you decide to bring those bills to the consumer.
“That is not the scope of Great British Energy; it is not the scope of the Bill, either.”
