Labour is set to ignore calls from party members and a supportive union to nationalise energy infrastructure.
The topic has been batted around the party conference, which is being held this week in Liverpool, and a vote was put forward by union Unite on Monday.
Attendees were given the question of whether to “reaffirm” their commitment to nationalising critical infrastructure such as railways and energy.
The motion passed with support from unions Unite, ASLEF and TSSA as well as Labour fringe group Momentum. The latter said: “This is a huge victory - and a clear message to the leadership.
"Trade unions and Labour members, like the public, overwhelmingly want our public services in public hands, not being run for profit."
However, shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds told the BBC: "We’re not going to nationalise the energy system” and added the vote would not be followed.
This is what it means for Labour and beyond.
What does nationalising energy mean?
Energy companies were once controlled by the government but now exist as private businesses. Nationalisation would bring them back under government control.
British Gas, Shell, BP, SSE, Scottish Power, Southern Water, E.On, Octopus Group and EDF are all owned by businesses.
They are free to make billions of pounds of profit, which during the cost of living crisis has put the companies against the wrath of individuals and politicians. Trades Union Congress (TUC) general secretary Paul Nowak previously said oil and gas companies were treating the British public “like cash machines”.
Nationalisation would see any profits put back into bettering the service, given back to customers, or used to fund other arms of the government. There are also arguments around putting other services, such as rail networks under government control.
Read our full article here about who owns energy companies and how much profit they make.
Did energy use to be nationalised?
British Gas was previously publicly owned but in December 1986 the prime minister at the time, Margaret Thatcher, privatised it. The full privatisation of the industry took place in 1990.
The National Grid was formed as a company and its shares were owned by twelve regional electricity companies. It was also put on the London Stock Exchange and its shares were traded publicly.
Privatisation has been a key Conservative policy for big industries. The party has argued it is effective governance for businesses to provide a better service, to stimulate the private sector and to free up government resources and time.
Does Labour support nationalising energy?
Unlike the Conservative Party, Labour has historically supported a bigger government model and nationalisation in general was a key policy of Jeremy Corbyn - a leadership era which attracted grassroots support but ultimately did not see the party win either the 2017 or 2019 general elections.
When running to be Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer said he supported “common ownership of rail, mail, energy and water”. But he appears to have gone back on this now.
Aside from his views, the comments made on Monday by Mr Reynolds suggest that national ownership is not the policy of Labour’s leaders even if it has member support.
What has Keir Starmer said?
Sir Keir Starmer has not addressed the issue head-on at the conference, the Labour leader is instead set to use his keynote speech on Tuesday to speak about rebuilding the country after 13 years of Tory rule. Another key line is set to be around his commitment to local government autonomy.
Sir Keir was asked on Thursday about extending HS2, as originally planned, to travel beyond Birmingham to Manchester but said he could not commit.
On energy, he said back in July that he was “pragmatic” about the question of public ownership of rail, energy and water companies. Back in 2019, he appeared to back the idea but he has retreated somewhat.
“Having come through the pandemic, it’s very important we have very, very clear priorities and that’s why we’ve set out fiscal rules already as an opposition,” he said.
