Tory insurance policies left UK uncovered to power shocks – Labour
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abour has accused the Conservatives of leaving the UK essentially the most uncovered main financial system to rising power costs.
The occasion stated that information compiled by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero exhibits why the UK has been hit hardest by hovering power costs following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) information exhibits that in 2021 the UK had the very best common home electrical energy value of the nations assessed by the worldwide physique.
Labour stated that it confirmed how susceptible the UK was to power shocks, even earlier than Russian President Vladimir Putin’s determination to invade Ukraine.
Shadow local weather change and web zero minister Alan Whitehead stated: “Every family in the country is paying the price in higher energy bills because 13 years of failed Conservative energy policy have left us vulnerable.
“They failed to prepare and to protect Britain – and it is families and businesses that have paid the price.
“Even before Putin’s invasion, over a decade of Tory decisions – from banning onshore wind, to cutting insulation and solar, and stalling nuclear – meant UK households were facing the highest bills of any major economy.
He said that the country “cannot afford another Tory government”.
Labour additionally pointed to Government failures on insulation and power effectivity, in addition to on photo voltaic and nuclear energy.
Mr Whitehead stated: “Only Labour has a plan to cut energy bills once and for all, with our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030, and our Warm Homes plan, which taken together will cut energy bills permanently by up to £1,400 for every family – creating jobs, strengthening our energy security, and tackling the climate crisis along the way.”
Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps hit again at Labour.
“Labour’s Energy Surrender Plan, written by Just Stop Oil, will sacrifice 213,000 British jobs, cost £87 billion, and increase our dependency on dictators like Putin,” he stated.
“Instead of cosying up to foreign energy dictators like Labour did when they were last in office, we’re powering more of Britain from Britain.
“The amount of electricity from renewables is up from less than 7% in 2010 to over 41% now and we’re delivering four new state-of-the-art nuclear reactors.”
Greenpeace warned that power safety will come solely from a change to renewables.
The group’s head of politics, Rebecca Newsom, stated: “Contrary to the guff that the Conservative government continually spouts about ‘needing more oil and gas for energy security’ and to ‘reduce our dependency on dictators’, drilling for more fossil fuels will do anything but this.
“Since fossil fuels aren’t nationalised in this country, any oil and gas extracted from the North Sea belongs to the company that extracted it, not the UK. They can then sell that oil and gas on the international market at international rates.
“This will not increase energy security nor will it mean we import less.”
She stated a change away from “climate-wrecking fossil fuel” will “give the UK the energy security it so desperately needs” whereas additionally serving to to deal with the local weather disaster and reducing payments.