By earmarking billions of pounds for the green economy, Labour is setting itself apart from the Tories and Reform
With a barrage of announcements on home insulation, nuclear power, public transport and green technology, Rachel Reeves set out a clear message in her spending review – Labour will take on the Reform party on net zero.
Taken together, the spending package on the green economy adds up to more than £60bn, not counting the £22bn in research and development spending, some of which will go to green ends. The budget for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero alone was boosted by 16%, more than any other department.
Ed Matthew, UK director at climate change thinktank E3G, said: “This is a historic uplift in capital support for building a clean economy. It will turbo-boost investment in clean energy in every part of the country, reducing climate change emissions and bolstering energy security.”
That was not a given. Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, whose department emerged as a clear winner on Wednesday, has been vilified for months in sections of the media and heavily briefed against, even by some within government. There were persistent rumours until last week that the £13.2bn pledge on home insulation would be cut, or that the £8.3bn for Great British Energy would be watered down.
