Labour has formally abandoned its commitment to spend £28bn a year on green investment, blaming the Conservative government's economic record. The announcement was made in a briefing to journalists, in which the party outlined further details of its green prosperity plan.
The party said the plan would still go ahead, but would be funded by a windfall tax on oil and gas giants and borrowing within Labour's fiscal rules. However, it confirmed that due to the Conservatives crashing the economy and Jeremy Hunt's plans to 'max out' the country's credit card, the previous annual spending target was no longer achievable.
The centrepiece of the package remains Great British Energy, a publicly owned energy company intended to take back control of the energy system. Labour also acknowledged that the initial rollout of home insulation plans would be slower than originally hoped.
The decision has been described as the biggest U-turn of Keir Starmer's leadership, with reports suggesting the party's green investment ambitions have been halved. Thinktanks had called for substantial public investment, with the IPPR suggesting £30bn a year and the London School of Economics estimating £26bn annually.
Critics expressed disappointment, arguing that the reversal leaves the UK off track to meet its climate targets and uncompetitive in the global clean tech race. The withdrawal of ambition comes as other countries are pouring record levels of investment into green industries and jobs of the future.
