Consumers concerned Labour’s green investment U-turn will result in higher bills

Almost a third of the public have expressed concerns that Labour’s recent U-turn on its £28 billion a year investment plans will negatively impact their energy bills, new research has found.

Following months of speculation, opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer confirmed last week that his party will no longer commit to spending £28 billion a year on green initiatives.

Instead, policies outlined in a renewed plan represent £23.7 billion of investment over the course of the next Parliament, which equates to less than £5 billion a year.

A snap poll conducted by Opinium on behalf of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) found that double the number of people (31%) thought the decision would have a negative impact on the “cost of energy bills for ordinary people” versus those (15%) who thought the impact on bills would be positive.

Likewise, roughly double (33%) thought it would have a negative impact on “Britain’s ability to control its own energy supply” verses those (17%) who thought it would be positive.

The consumer research also found that there was a lack of awareness of the party’s plans, with only 14% of people stating they were ‘very aware’ of Labour’s proposed investment plans, but roughly double (26%) were very aware of the recent U-turn on the plan.

More people (43%) thought the U-turn meant Labour had “no real plan for what it would do differently if it wins power” than agreed (25%) that it showed “if it wins power, it will be responsible with the nation’s finances”.

Meanwhile, when asked which of two main parties are most trusted on energy and climate change, the largest response was neither at 42%.

Alasdair Johnstone, political analyst from the ECIU, said: “Many more voters are seeing this negatively than positively. It is somewhat akin to the Prime Minister taking a dent in his approval ratings in the wake of his speech rowing back on some net zero policies in September.

“Beyond the politics, the public are concerned that a lack of investment will lead to higher bills and less energy security. Indeed, failure to invest enough in insulating homes and expanding renewables has left us more exposed during the recent gas crisis costing households thousands of pounds.

“The public need coherent, well communicated plans that address our dependence on volatile gas markets, otherwise the ambition of energy independence is just rhetoric to them. The North Sea is inevitably declining which means for energy security the UK needs well-insulated homes that waste less gas, heat pumps and EVs that run on British electricity and renewables that cut the need for imported gas in power stations. If we don’t do that, energy imports go up and emissions don’t come down.”

To read Utility Week’s analysis of Labour’s green U-turn, click here.