If the Labour Party wins power, it will implement its own version of Washington’s $369 billion Inflation Reduction Act of green subsidies to spur job creation and make the future “made in Britain,” according to the party’s environment policy chief.
Ed Miliband is the latest member of Labour’s top team to lay out his vision, as part of an increasingly detailed offer to voters ahead of next year’s election, which polls show Labour will win.
However, with the Conservative Party’s approval ratings rising, Labour officials say they are not complacent about victory and are eager to lay out their agenda in order to sway undecided voters.
Speaking at an event hosted by the Green Alliance think tank, Miliband chastised the Conservatives for being concerned about the IRA, saying they should “start matching its ambition.”
“Of course, we must continue to be an open economy that welcomes foreign investment and goods. Not everything in the green economy can or should be produced in the United States. However, we are not agnostic about where things are built “He stated.
“Joe Biden envisions an America-made future. We want a future that is Made in Britain.”
Miliband stated that Labour would provide certainty and partnership for businesses to invest in Britain, break down planning barriers, establish a new national wealth fund, and establish GB energy, a publicly-owned energy company.
The government is expected to release its energy security plan this week after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated that he was in talks with the US about the IRA, which finance minister Jeremy Hunt described as a “very real competitive threat.”
Grant Shapps, the energy minister, responded to Miliband by saying, “The Conservatives have been leading the global green industrial revolution for the last ten years.”
Miliband stated that GB Energy, which would be able to build new projects and invest in privately-owned schemes, would be a national champion, similar to EDF in France and Statkraft in Norway.
“This country requires change,” he stated. “GB energy is a critical component of this transformation.”
