Keir Starmer should be “in detailed discussions right now” about how he will roll out a flagship publicly-owned energy company if he becomes prime minister and not wait for an election campaign, union bosses have insisted.
The new Scots-based energy company promised by the UK Labour leader, if he secures the keys to Downing Street, must be the absolute priority of an incoming government, a leading trade union has stressed.
GMB Scotland warned there is “not a day to waste” after the Labour leader announced Great British Energy will be based in Scotland to drive forward the transition to renewables.
He told his party’s conference in Liverpool last week that the publicly-owned company will complete the UK’s transition to renewable energy, create thousands of well-paid jobs and build the supply chains needed to deliver 100% clean and cheaper power by 2030.
The UK has pledged to become net zero by 2050, while Scotland has a legal commitment to do so by 2045 and must cut emissions by 75% by 2030.
Read more: Scotland to be UK's 'beating heart' under Labour's clean energy plan
Sir Keir promised Labour’s commitment to renewables will create 500,000 jobs said that Scotland is key to the project, “because, though Great British Energy will be a shared mission, Scotland has the skills, Scotland has the ingenuity, and Scotland is at the heart of a Britain built to last”.
The Labour leader said the new energy company “will harness clean British power for good British jobs”, adding that it will be “a company that will be publicly owned and that will be based in Scotland”.
GMB Scotland secretary Louise Gilmour welcomed the commitment to a publicly-owned energy company, but warned too much time has already been wasted in drawing up detailed plans.
She said the UK is already lagging in the international race to build supply chains and create jobs in green energy.
She added: “Given our skills and experience in energy, it makes absolute sense to base this new publicly-owned company in Scotland.
“However, we cannot wait for an election to begin the planning and Labour should be in detailed discussions right now about how GB Energy will work.
Read more: Analysis: Can Keir Starmer's clean energy rhetoric match with real action?
“This must not be on the to-do list for the first year of a Labour government but the first day.”
Ms Gilmour said GB Energy must become the driving force to create supply chains and skilled, unionised jobs in renewable energy founded on Scotland’s offshore skills and experience.
She said: “We do not need another office block full of talk and promises.
“We need an organisation pulling every muscle to build our capacity to create renewable energy and build a distribution network that is fit for purpose.
“For more than a decade, we have been told of the thousands of new jobs about to be created in renewables while watching the contracts and the skills go abroad.
“We have heard too much talk and seen too many opportunities squandered while uncertainty was allowed to corrode our offshore industries.”
Read more: Starmer could legally stop Holyrood being undermined by Westminster
Ms Gilmour added: “From Day One, GB Energy must support an industrial strategy capable of harnessing our skills and expertise in oil and gas to deliver renewables and protect jobs and communities.
“We need the vision and urgency to protect offshore supplies for the years ahead as we build the infrastructure and supply lines needed to deliver Net Zero and the thousands of skilled, well-paid jobs that must come with it.”
Scottish Labour energy spokesperson, Sarah Boyack, said “Labour’s transformative plans for a publicly-owned GB Energy company headquartered here in Scotland will drive down bills, create jobs and provide energy security.
“This will be a top priority for the next Labour government and work is underway to ensure we can hit the ground running.”
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