A U-turn on the eve of a major policy announcement is not usually part of the plan for a government in waiting. Later this month the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, will set out his pitch on energy, jobs and net zero, hoping to place a green economy at the centre of his vision for revitalising the UK.
But with just weeks to go, his shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, admitted on Friday that the key plank of that vision – the party’s much-heralded flagship commitment to spend £28bn a year on green investment – would be delayed. She blamed the economic mess being left by the Conservative party, and insisted the target would be met in the second half of a Labour parliament.
