Andy Burnham has called for a U-turn on the government's energy policy as he set out a £65bn vision for Greater Manchester to become net zero by 2038. The mayor has written to the new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt asking him to back the city-region's costly plans which will 're-industrialise' the North of England.
He announced a new taskforce which will explore opportunities to harness wind, solar and tidal power in Greater Mancheser and Liverpool City Region. It came as the Chancellor announced a series of U-turns yesterday (October 17), including scaling back the Energy Price Guarantee from April next year.
But the Greater Manchester mayor called for a U-turn on 'backward-looking' energy policies such as reopening fracking and restricting new solar farms. Speaking at the fifth annual Green Summit in Salford, Mr Burnham said he wants more 'community-owned' energy production in Greater Manchester.
