LONDON — Britain’s opposition Labour Party would bring in its own version of Washington’s $369 billion Inflation Reduction Act of green subsidies to spur jobs and make the future “made in Britain” if it came to power, its environment policy chief said on Tuesday.
Ed Miliband is the latest member of Labour’s top team to set out his vision, part of an increasingly detailed offer to voters before an election expected next year that opinion polls suggest Labour would win.
But with the governing Conservative Party’s approval ratings ticking up, Labour officials say they are not complacent about victory and are keen to set out their agenda to try to win over undecided voters.
Speaking to an event hosted by the think tank Green Alliance, Miliband criticized the Conservatives for expressing concern about the IRA, saying they should “start matching its ambition.”
“Of course, we must remain an open economy, welcoming foreign investment and goods. Not everything in the green economy could or should be produced here. But we are not neutral about where things are built,” he said.
“Joe Biden wants the future Made in America. We want the future Made in Britain.”
Miliband said Labour would provide certainty and partnership for businesses to invest in Britain, try to break down barriers in planning, introduce a new national wealth fund and create GB energy, a publicly-owned energy company.
The government is expected to unveil its energy security plan this week, after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was talking to the United States about the IRA – something finance minister Jeremy Hunt said was a “very real competitive threat.”
Energy minister, Grant Shapps, responded to Miliband by saying: “The Conservatives have been leading the green industrial revolution globally for the last 10 years.”
Miliband said GB Energy, which would be able to build new projects and invest in privately-owned schemes, would be a national champion such as France’s EDF and Statkraft in Norway.
“This country needs change,” he said. “GB energy is a vital part of this change.” (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Christina Fincher)
