PM says bills will come down with GB Energy – as he hails ‘game changer’ Crown Estate deal

Sir Keir Starmer has said he is confident household bills will come down as part of the government’s drive to deliver the publicly owned energy firm GB Energy.

Speaking at an event in Runcorn, Cheshire, the prime minister hailed the government’s “historic” partnership with the Crown Estate to roll out new offshore wind farm developments as a “game changer”.

Labour suggested in its manifesto that the party’s net zero energy plans would bring down household bills by £300 per year – a figure Sir Keir said he stood by.

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Asked by Sky News’ science and technology editor Tom Clarke whether he was “confident” that people’s bills will come down in the short term, given the length of time needed to develop offshore wind farms, the prime minister replied: “Yes.”

He said the money that was going into GB Energy was intended to be a “catalyst” for private investment and that the partnership with the Crown Estate would give “confidence to investors about the determination we have; the speed at which we are willing to take decisions”.

However, the prime minister did not give a timeline for when consumers would see their bills drop and acknowledged that setting up GB Energy would take “time to develop”.

“It will take time before we’re able to get the benefits of clean power, but that’s why we’re moving at pace,” he added.

The prime minister said that as well as lowering bills, the transition to renewable energy would also ensure the “next generation of jobs”.

In a message to existing oil and gas workers – many of whom are concerned about losing their jobs in the green energy transition – Sir Keir said both fuels would be “part of the mix for many years to come” but that there would undeniably be a transition to renewable energy.

“The worst thing we could do is nothing or go slowly,” he said.

“We had a transition away from coal and the government at the time did not do forward planning. I’m never going to let that happen.”

The deal with the Crown Estate was announced on the same day the government introduced legislation to create Great British Energy which will have £8.3bn of funding over the next parliament.

The Crown Estate is essentially the monarchy’s property company, which has a £16bn portfolio – including most of Britain’s seabed up to 12 nautical miles from the land. It belongs to the monarch for the duration of their reign but they are unable to sell its assets.

It made £1.1bn in profit last year, the majority of which came from leasing land to offshore wind providers, and most of the money goes back into the government’s coffers, bar a small portion which goes to the monarchy itself.

In another bill being introduced on Thursday, the Crown Estate will also be given new borrowing powers so it can invest more in wind projects.

Chief executive Dan Labbad said: “The Crown Estate exists to serve the national interest, including stewarding our natural resources to deliver a decarbonised, energy secure and sustainable future.

“With new powers and by partnering with government, we can drive greater investment into this future for our country, and with it support nature recovery and job creation.”

Other details around Great British Energy were also unveiled on Thursday, with the government saying it would lead energy projects through development stages to make them go faster, then give them back to private firms, while keeping a stake to get a return for the public purse.

However, ministers have left the door open for Great British Energy to operate projects itself in the future.

Greenpeace UK called the announcement “a great first step towards Labour delivering on their strong election mandate for rolling out renewable energy across the country”.

But shadow energy security secretary Claire Coutinho claimed Great British Energy was “nothing but a gimmick that will end up costing families, not cutting bills”.

The former Tory minister added: “Labour have already been forced to admit that their flagship energy company won’t generate any energy, and now we know it’s a financial black hole – funnelling taxpayers’ money into reducing risk for multi-million-pound energy companies.

“Labour’s entire energy policy puts ideology above the national interest… the Conservatives will hold them to account and make sure that the focus is on cheap bills and secure energy.”