THE UK Government has issued a statement on the future of GB Energy after the new Energy Secretary visited Aberdeen without mentioning the flagship Labour manifesto commitment.
Miatta Fahnbulleh, who was handed the energy brief by Prime Minister Andy Burnham after he took office, journeyed up to the Port of Aberdeen on July 23 but made no mention of GB Energy, and did not accept any questions from Scottish media outlets.
The creation of GB Energy was a flagship pledge of the 2024 Labour General Election campaign, with a manifesto commitment to “create a new publicly-owned company” that would be backed with “£8.3 billion over the next parliament”.
However, in June 2025, Labour cut GB Energy’s funding by £2.5bn, funnelling the cash instead to the Tory-era Great British Nuclear, which was quietly renamed GB Energy – Nuclear but remains an entirely separate entity.
Burnham and his new Energy Secretary’s silence on the future of the Aberdeen-headquartered body led to concerns that it may face further cuts.
“Labour sold GB Energy as the cornerstone of its clean energy plans and promised that Aberdeen would be at the heart of it. They promised a headquarters with real power, jobs and investment,” Greens MSP Kristopher Leask said.
“For the new Energy Secretary to visit the city, ignore its headquarters and avoid questions about its future will inevitably raise concerns that those promises are already being watered down.
“The UK Government must guarantee GB Energy’s funding, confirm that its decision-making will remain in Aberdeen and set out exactly how many secure, well-paid jobs and publicly owned renewable projects it will deliver.”
He added: “Furthermore, it’s long past due that we see much more detail and substance from GB Energy on how they will deliver for Scotland, and for our communities. It cannot be allowed to be forgotten while Labour turns its attention back to climate-wrecking oilfields and serving the interests of private energy giants.”
SNP MSP Jackie Dunbar said: "GB Energy was supposedly created to drive forward renewables jobs in Scotland, but the money has been used on solar panels and nuclear plants in England.
“Far from the thousands of jobs promised, there’s barely a few dozen created while the Labour Party is destroying existing oil and gas roles on an industrial scale. The Energy Secretary’s first visit to Aberdeen should have been the job centre to see the damage for herself.”
A spokesperson for the UK Government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said that their commitment to GB Energy remained unchanged.
“Great British Energy is a key part of our plan to lower bills and bring growth to every postcode,” they said.
“It will continue to lead the charge, having already helped to create thousands of skilled jobs, unlock significant private investment, and cut energy bills for hundreds of schools and hospitals.”
