Ed Miliband’s big green pitch at Labour’s conference is already under fire, with critics warning his plans will hike bills, drive out investment and damage energy security.
Andy Mayer, energy analyst at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said the UK’s reliance on imported oil and gas is not going away, whatever Labour pledges.
“The UK is a net importer of oil and gas and will continue to use these resources for energy for many decades to come. Banning the extraction of our own reserves or techniques like fracking doesn’t change that; it just makes their consumption more expensive and polluting.”
Mayer accused Miliband of championing union demands in wind farms that will simply push up costs further. “Encouraging union militancy in wind farms doesn’t change that; it just increases the cost of alternatives.”
He pointed out the UK already suffers from some of the highest energy prices in the developed world.
“The UK already has the most expensive industrial energy in the developed world and the second-highest domestic energy prices. Ed Miliband once stood on a platform attacking the ‘cost of living crisis’ when energy bills were half what they are today. He now wants to deliver that by sleight of hand, moving policy costs from bills to taxes.”
The sting, Mayer argued, is that none of this changes the fundamentals of Britain’s energy mix but it will heap more costs on households and businesses.
“This will change none of the fundamentals, bar raising the cost of Government borrowing. This in turn will raise the costs of all investments in the UK, including in net-zero projects like nuclear and renewables at a time when oil refineries are closing, the steel industry is on life support, and the wind industry already wants more expensive price guarantees.”
The conclusion is bleak: “The Government is delivering higher prices, higher taxes, higher emissions, higher interest rates, lower investor confidence, and elevated risks to energy security.
“Earlier in the week, the Minister said he didn’t like billionaires very much. We can agree on one thing: he will ensure very few will wish to live here and pay his taxes.”
