Standard content for Members only
To continue reading this article, please login to your Utility Week account, Start 14 day trial or Become a member.
If your organisation already has a corporate membership and you haven’t activated it simply follow the register link below. Check here.
“Political infighting is the last thing the sector needs”
Who will shadow the shadowers? You might have thought that a shadow cabinet holding the government frontbench to account would be enough. But apparently you’d be wrong.
Several anti-Corbyn Labour party members ousted from the shadow cabinet have found their feet in the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP). And the line-up includes former shadow energy minister Caroline Flint.
The PLP may have waned in significance in recent years, but it is able to play an effective role in challenging Labour frontbench policy positions and promoting alternative policy agendas. And with the Labour party divided between Corbyn’s hard-left supporters and more moderate Labour members, there’s little doubt that the group will become more vocal.
Good news for democratic scrutiny? Maybe. But for the energy sector, which for years has played host to political point scoring, the impact of a divided Labour party may bring more opposition than answers.
Labour is united on the need for greater strides in battling climate change and fuel poverty, but in terms of investment in new generation, Flint’s pro-nuclear stance is at odds with Corbyn’s anti-nuclear rhetoric.
Strong opposition is one thing, but political infighting is the last thing the energy sector needs to achieve a stable policy framework. If the government is to face useful, constructive opposition over the coming parliamentary term, the Labour party needs to speak with a united voice. Or risk the SNP doing it for them.
Please login or Register to leave a comment.