Political Agenda this week, by David Blackman

“Labour is opposed to the existence of utility firms”

The Labour Party annual conference was a much happier place this week than when it gathered last year. The party’s better than expected performance at this year’s general election means its mainstream has swung firmly behind the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell’s speech, in which he reaffirmed the party’s commitment to bringing back utilities into public ownership, shows that the policies outlined in June’s radical platform are now firmly entrenched within Labour.
Corporate Britain, including the utility companies, was out in force at this year’s conference.
For utilities, though, ­engaging with Labour’s current mood is hard given the party’s avowed opposition to their very ­existence.
To get a sense of how the tide of opinion is shaping up in the party, it was necessary to leave the plush hotels surrounding the Brighton Conference Centre and take a stroll on the seafront.
In a determinedly funky cafe bar with a good view of the offshore windfarm off the Brighton shoreline, the fledgling Labour Energy Group outlined its radical proposals to bring offshore wind into public ownership, which McDonnell picked up on in his keynote speech.
Energy UK made a bid to reach out to the new zeitgeist within Labour by focusing on vulnerable consumers in its pitch to members at the association’s own party conference meeting.
Whether they like it or not, utilities are going to have to take Labour’s radical turn seriously.