close
close

No announcement for GB Energy HQ at King’s Speech

Posted on by darion

Image Source, Getty photos

Photo Title, The Labour government says GB Energy will help accelerate the UK’s transition away from fossil fuels

The UK government has confirmed plans to establish a new energy company’s headquarters in Scotland, but has not yet made a decision on the location.

The Royal Speech announced that a Labour administration would set up a company, GB Energy, to “own, manage and operate clean energy projects” across the UK.

King Charles, announcing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s political agenda, said the company would be based in Scotland, which the government described as a “world leader in renewable energy”.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden, said further details about GB Energy would be confirmed in due course.

He added that the government wants to act quickly but has not yet made a decision on the headquarters.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer promised the company would be a driver of the clean energy transition and create “huge numbers” of skilled jobs in Scotland.

Image Source, Getty photos

Photo Title, Sir Keir Starmer’s policy priorities set out in the King’s Speech

In documents released alongside the Royal Speech, the Government said GB Energy would receive £8.3bn in public support and Parliament would provide it with a significant amount of private sector investment to fund a decarbonised energy system.

The company said it will “facilitate, encourage and participate in the production, distribution, storage and delivery of clean energy.”

GB Energy will not supply electricity to homes, but its aim is to fund existing and new clean technologies and work with local communities to develop small and medium-sized renewable energy projects.

The king said the law “will help the country achieve energy independence and unlock investment in energy infrastructure.”

Sir Keir’s intention to establish a Council of Nations and Regions to “renew opportunities” for cooperation between the Prime Minister, devolved leaders and mayors was also confirmed.

Other announcements in the King’s Speech that could affect Scotland include reforms to employment rights, changes to border security, a phased smoking ban, restrictions on the sale and advertising of e-cigarettes, support for sustainable aviation fuel production and an end to VAT exemptions for private schools.

Image Source, Getty photos

Photo Title, The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden, said the Government had not yet made a decision on the GB Energy headquarters.

Mr McFadden, the MP for Wolverhampton South East, who previously worked for former Prime Minister Tony Blair, told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland that GB Energy was a “massive opportunity”.

“I think it would be great to have a headquarters in Scotland. We will announce that in due course,” he said.

Labour has announced that in 2022 GB Energy will become a “public clean energy company” that will operate on a similar basis to Sweden’s Vattenfall or Denmark’s Orsted.

However, in later interviews, Sir Keir insisted it was an “investment vehicle” and not an energy company.

Trade unions have called for greater clarity about the plans.

Mr McFadden, who served as Labour’s national campaign co-ordinator at the election, was also asked about his party’s policy towards the North Sea oil and gas industry.

The party, however, pledged not to revoke existing licences and said oil and natural gas would remain part of the energy mix for decades to come.

This policy was not mentioned in the King’s Speech.

“We’ll be drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea for some time,” McFadden said.

“There is a well-established industry there. There are licenses that have already been granted.”

He added: “I repeat, this is something we said before the election, so what you can expect from our actions after the election should be in line with that.”

Following the Royal Speech, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said the Scottish Government was ready to work “constructively” with the Labour government but demanded further details on GB Energy.

She backed proposals to strengthen workers’ rights and take action on smoking and vaping, backing a “four nations” approach to the issue.

The Scottish National Party minister also expressed disappointment that the UK Government had not committed to ending the two-child benefit cap, but said her Government would continue to “take action to reduce the harmful levels of child poverty that we see”.

The cap, introduced as part of the Conservative government’s austerity measures in 2017, prevents parents from claiming universal credit or Child Tax Credit for their third child, with a few exceptions.

While the speech was delivered by the King himself – amidst royal pomp and ceremony – today’s event gives Sir Keir Starmer the opportunity to demonstrate he intends to act quickly to deliver on his election promises.

And when it comes to Scotland, it is clear that the Prime Minister wants to show that the UK Government is committed to improving cross-border relations and governing the country as a whole.

Plans to create GB Energy and legislation to support sustainable aviation fuel production could have a major economic impact north of the border.

The prime minister has also proposed a forum to meet with devolved governments – the Council of Nations and Regions. There is talk of “strengthening” and “cooperation”, but there are not many details yet about how this will work in practice.

The Scottish Government has welcomed the devolution deal, but Scottish National Party (SNP) ministers and MPs have made clear they are prepared to hold the Prime Minister to account on issues such as workers’ rights and child poverty.

Scottish National Party (SNP) leader at Westminster Stephen Flynn said his party would table an amendment to the Queen’s Speech to remove the limit.

He said it was “extraordinary” and that Mr McFadden refused to accept the measure had caused harm.

During a debate in the House of Commons, Mr Flynn said the establishment of the working group would “ultimately lead to the same conclusion” as his party had proposed – scrapping the cap.

Sir Keir said the aim of the taskforce was to develop a strategy to reduce child poverty.

Scotland’s Child Poverty Action Group said scrapping the cap, which has been estimated to cost £1.3bn a year, would lift 250,000 children out of poverty in the UK, including up to 15,000 in Scotland.

Asked repeatedly whether he agreed the cap caused harm, Mr McFadden said it was “open to discussion”.

Photo Title, Scottish National Party Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has called on Labour to scrap the two-child limit

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said he would press the Prime Minister to abandon the policy once Labour came to power.

Mr McFadden said that while he understood calls to abandon the policy, the Queen’s Speech was about “a change that we talked about in our manifesto” and changing the limit was “not in our manifesto”.

Mr Flynn called on Labour to “do the right thing”, arguing that the UK Government has the fiscal levers to raise tens of billions of pounds, more than enough to cover the cost of lifting the cap.

Asked why the Scottish National Party government had not softened the effects of the policy north of the border, he said it had already introduced the Scottish Child Payment but Holyrood’s finances were “hugely constrained” by Westminster.

“If we were to relax any of their policies again, it would be at the expense of the NHS, Education Scotland and Police Scotland,” he told Good Morning Scotland.

Andrew Bowie, Conservative MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine and shadow minister for veterans, said the two-child limit was “fair” and urged Labour not to abolish it.

He also said Labour failed to explain exactly what GB Energy would do during the election campaign.

Mr Bowie added: “I very much hope it will not just be a better call centre.”