Keir Starmer threatens UK energy on 'altar of Net Zero by 2050'

Keir Starmer has been accused of sacrificing the UK's energy security on the "altar of net zero by 2050" during his first year in power. The Tories ripped into the Government for its "ideological obsessions" with hitting the target by the middle of this century despite the costs to the public.

Andrew Bowie, acting Shadow Secretary of State for Energy, said: "This Labour government's energy policy has been a disaster from the get go. "Driven by their ideological obsessions, Keir Starmer and Ed Miliband have sacrificed this country's energy security on the altar of net zero by 2050 - consequences be damned.

"And so far from the public seeing the £300 off energy bills they were promised during the election, we are instead faced with ever rising energy costs, businesses having to have their bills subsidised by the taxpayer, and the potential loss of thousands of jobs in the North Sea - whilst the government pursues solar panels tainted by Chinese slave labour.

"Kemi Badenoch and I have told the truth about what net zero by 2050 will cost this country - until Labour is prepared to do the same, this madness, and the consequences, will only get worse."

The UK is legally committed to reaching net zero by 2050 under a law passed by former Tory Prime Minister Theresa May in 2019.

It means the UK must cut carbon emissions until it removes as much as it produces, in line with the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.

The UK Climate Change Committee (CCC), which advises the government on the issue, said last week that the UK can reach its net zero targets for 2050.

Energy experts have also slammed Sir Keir's failure to deliver on his manifesto pledge of lowering energy bills.

A key election pledge was to slash these by up to £300 by 2030.

Sam Hall, director of the Conservative Environment Network, said: "Labour's energy policies are making energy prices higher, not lower. To reduce bills, we need a market-led approach instead."

The UK government is mulling over a change to the law to oil and gas projects in the North Sea in a drive to lower energy bills.

This would be another U-turn for Labour after the party banned fresh North Sea oil and gas drilling.

Mr Miliband lifted the de facto ban on new onshore wind farms days after coming into power and established Great British Energy with a promise of using £8.3billion of taxpayer cash to drive renewable power.

But the firm's boss Juergen Maier later admitted it could take 20 years to deliver the Labour government pledge of 1,000 jobs for Aberdeen.

Britain's state-owned energy company will not be allowed to use solar panels linked to Chinese slave labour.

Ecotricity founder Dale Vince said: "Ed Miliband has made real progress with wind and solar energy, so I'm confident they'll reach or get close to their ambitious target of going green on the energy grid by 2030.

"Success however will depend on winning over voters, that means Labour must chart a clear course to significantly cheaper energy bills. Households need to be able to feel the difference before the next election.

"Right now, we've got a defective energy market - one that links the price of all electricity to the most expensive source on the grid. That's usually fossil gas. Breaking this link would slash hundreds of pounds from our energy bills. Doing this would help the government make serious strides towards affordable energy bills for all."

The number of UK homes installing heat pumps supported by government-funded incentives rose to a record level last year.

Some 52% more of the low-carbon heating systems were installed than in 2023.

Jess Ralston, head of energy at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit said: "The roll out of heat pumps has also seen a huge uptick. This will help to reduce the amount of gas we need to import from abroad for power generation as the North Sea continues its inevitable decline. However, as the CCC recently spelled out, not enough progress is being made on moving away from gas boilers that keep households tied to volatile international gas prices.

"The Warm Homes Plan received all the funding pledged in the manifesto but won't come until Autumn at the earliest, when to deliver price stability and energy security for households, insulation and heat pumps are essential. There have been solid steps towards energy independence but there is a long way to go until we have renewables, fuelled by British wind and solar, powering increasingly electrified households that have price stability and are no longer exposed to the geopolitical meddling of foreign actors like Putin."

A spokesman for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: "We are making the UK a clean energy superpower to get off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets controlled by dictators and replace that with clean homegrown power we control. That is how we can protect family finances and our national finances."