PRIME Minister Sir Keir Starmer claims household energy bills will fall by £300 a year during a visit to Runcorn and Widnes today, Thursday.
The politician warned it will “take time” to reap the benefits of clean power initiatives, but stood by a claim that Labour’s plans will eventually drive down prices.
He said the Government is “moving at pace” with the development of the publicly-owned GB Energy company, but said “problems that have been left to fester for years” cannot be fixed “overnight”.
Hitting out at the Conservative record, he said chances to boost energy security had been missed by the previous government, leaving a “rot of short-sightedness and self-service” for Labour to clear up.
In a speech during the visit, where he was also joined by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, the PM said “every day” his administration is finding “more mess” that the Tories left behind.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer during a visit to Hutchinson Engineering in Widnes (Image: James Glossop/The Times/PA)
“The hard graft of rebuilding this country has well and truly started, and it is vital that we begin immediately because the last government dropped the ball,” he said.
“They left us the worst inheritance since the Second World War, and every day – every day – we are finding more mess that they have left for us to clear up, the rot of short-sightedness and self-service that has weakened the foundations of our country.”
Sir Keir’s speech was aimed at setting out new plans to team up with the Crown Estate, which owns the vast majority of Britain’s seabed, to boost the building of offshore wind farms.
It comes after the Tories cast doubt on a previous Labour pledge to help cut household bills by £300 a year, in part through GB Energy, its flagship green initiative.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer with Ed Miliband during a visit to Hutchinson Engineering in Widnes (Image: James Glossop/The Times/PA)
The figure was missing from the official announcement of the new plans, and Downing Street repeatedly declined to use it when asked by journalists on Thursday morning whether it is committed to the number.
However, asked later during a question-and-answer session whether he stands by the pledge, the Prime Minister said: “Yes, I do.
“I stand by everything in my manifesto, and one of the things I made clear in the election campaign is because I would not make a single promise or commitment that I did not think we could deliver in government, and that is why we carefully costed and funded everything in our manifesto.
“That does depend on early firm decisions being made, which is why we have set up GB Energy, why we have announced the partnership today with the Crown Estate, and why the Energy Secretary has already taken action in week one in relation to onshore wind, in relation to solar energy and also pushing on with nuclear. So I stand by that commitment.
“What this brings us is lower bills, energy security, the next generation of jobs, and of course an important contribution to our obligations in relation to the planet.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer during a visit to Hutchinson Engineering in Widnes (Image: James Glossop/The Times/PA)
Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho said the public have been “sold a lie” by Labour that their energy bills will drop by £300.
She claimed GB Energy will involve “funnelling taxpayers’ money into reducing risk for multimillion-pound energy companies”.
She also said that the 2030 decarbonisation target “will hike bills and ramp up our dependence on batteries and cables from China”.
“Now they are saying bills may go up, but the truth is even worse. Labour’s plans for energy are going to mean huge costs for British families,” she added.
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