Labour said Reform UK’s policies would rob Britain of the ‘opportunity to break free’ from dependence on fossil fuel markets controlled by dictators like Vladimir Putin
Nigel Farage’s “war on clean energy” would threaten over 950,000 jobs in thriving industries across the country, Labour has warned.
In a scathing attack, Keir Starmer ’s party said Reform UK’s policies would rob Britain of the “opportunity to break free” from dependence on fossil fuel markets controlled by dictators like Vladimir Putin. Labour warned families would be trapped on the “rollercoaster of insecure and high energy prices” under a Reform government.
It comes after Reform’s Deputy Leader Richard Tice last week vowed to scrap contracts with energy firms to reverse an expansion of renewables. On Wednesday, he wrote to the bosses of renewable energy companies, including SSE Renewables, Octopus Energy, Centrica, Equinor, to put them on “formal notice”.
Mr Tice said if Reform is elected to government, it will “immediately reassess” all commitments to reach net zero carbon emissions.
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A group of nearly 60 Labour MPs have since written to Mr Tice challenging his letter and warning him that he appears to have “under-appreciated the growth potential of the green transition”.
Mr Tice was also condemned earlier this year after he dismissed scientific views on man-made climate as “garbage”.
And earlier this week, Dame Andrea Jenkyns, Reform’s Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, said she did not think climate change exists. The former Tory MP and Boris Johnson ally said: “I’ve said for a long time, we need to ditch net zero and actually focus on economic growth. A million percent.” She added: “Do I believe that climate change exists? No.”
Challenged on rising global temperatures, melting glaciers, and rising sea levels, Dame Andrea told Times Radio: “It depends what evidence you look at…. I think it’s a way to actually make money… I think it’s harming industry. I think it’s a money making racket where certain businesses and individuals are making money out of it.”
According to Confederation of British Industry data, which was highlighted by Labour, the net zero economy supports 951,000 full-time jobs. This includes around 100,700 jobs in Scotland, 70,500 in Yorkshire and the Humber and 96,800 in the North West.
Labour also pointed to £40billion of private investment into the UK’s clean energy industries since last year’s general election. And the party highlighted that between 135,000 to 725,000 net new jobs could be created in low-carbon sectors by 2030, according to the Climate Change Committee, in areas like offshore wind, hydrogen, and the manufacture of electric vehicles.
Labour said Mr Farage’s policies would discourage investment in domestic clean energy, “robbing the UK’s engineers, welders and electricians of a new generation of job opportunities”.
Labour’s Energy Minister Michael Shanks said: “ Nigel Farage ’s war on clean energy is a war on jobs – and working people from Hull to Derby to Scotland would lose jobs and opportunities if Farage’s party was ever allowed to impose its anti-jobs, anti-growth ideology on the country.
“Reform UK’s energy surrender plan would leave bills high for families and businesses, keeping the UK stuck on the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets.
“Labour was elected to deliver real change for communities, and we are securing the good jobs that can boost people’s livelihoods and rebuild our country’s industrial backbone through our Plan for Change. We won’t let Farage and his ideologues stand in the way of these jobs.”
Mr Tice said: “Labour’s reckless net zero fantasies are destroying hundreds of thousands of industrial jobs, costing taxpayers £12billion a year in renewable subsidies, and leaving us with some of the highest energy bills in the world.
“The OBR confirms that £30billion of taxpayer money is being poured into net zero projects. These policies are crippling our economy and driving people out of this country. Reform will scrap net zero—which is costing us a fortune, driving up energy bills, and stalling growth—and invest in nuclear modular reactors, oil drilling, and getting Britain back to work.”
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