Labour party leader Sir Keir Starmer has said a Labour government would turn Britain into a “green growth superpower”, if his party were to win the next election.
Speaking at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool today (27 September), Starmer claimed that his Green Prosperity Plan would create a million new jobs, bring down energy bills and raise living standards.
Green transformation
The leader of the opposition said that he wants to double the amount of onshore wind, triple solar power and quadruple offshore wind power in a bid to transform Britain into a green “superpower” by 2030.
Starmer argued “we cannot afford to miss out” on the opportunity to lead the world in renewable energy, electric vehicles and harnessing new hydrogen power, the BBC reports.
“Some nation will win the race to provide them. Why not Britain?” he asked, pledging to provide 100% clean power by 2030 in a national effort that would put Britain ahead of any other developed country.
“It will all start within the first 100 days of a new Labour government,” he pledged.
Pro-business stance
The Holborn and St Pancras MP announced plans for a British sovereign wealth fund as well as Great British Energy, a new publicly-owned company that would seize the opportunities in clean energy and share the benefits with the public, he said, claiming “green and growth are inseparable”.
Starmer said Labour was now the party of the centre ground and could fight the Tories on economic competence after it had presided over the worst decade of growth in two centuries.
“I’m not just pro-business but want to partner with business – a true partnership between government, business and trade unions,” he said, claiming government could support businesses to innovate and grow, tackling the country’s challenges.
Brexit
Starmer also re-affirmed his commitment to making “Brexit work,” saying it will be his government’s policy to deliver on Brexit.
As reported by the IOE&IT Daily Update, he had previously committed to taking advantage of “post-Brexit opportunities” and pledged Labour would not be leading the UK back into the EU.
Losing control
He accused the government of losing control of the economy, after the pound’s crash to an all-time low against the dollar on Monday following Kwasi Kwarteng’s tax-cutting mini budget last week, reports iNews.
Starmer presented the Labour Party as standing for “sound money,” committing to a long-term growth plan involving less government borrowing than Liz Truss’s economic strategy, reports Bloomberg.