Ministers who for years dismissed much-needed clean energy projects as “green crap” left hard-pressed families in the West of England saddled with sky-high bills, says Metro Mayor Dan Norris.
The West of England’s Labour Mayor made the comments after Sir Keir Starmer unveiled plans to take up to £1,400 off household bills while making the UK a clean energy superpower.
Under Labour’s plans, welcomed by Mr Norris, local government could end up getting £600m per year to invest in projects like installing more wind turbines and a further £400m in low interest loans for community projects, among other sweeping plans to cut dependence on oil and gas.
Meanwhile a publicly-owned clean energy company called GB Energy will partner with regional governments like Mayor Norris’s West of England Mayoral Combined Authority to build local energy plans to cut bills, and create jobs.
Mayor Norris said these proposals could put rocket boosters under his own green plans through schemes like his soon-to-be-launched £3 million Retrofit Accelerator designed to kickstart retrofit projects across the region, and £1.5 million Turbine Plan to “create more Lawrence Weston turbine success stories”.
West of England Metro Mayor Dan Norris said: “The Tory decision a decade ago to, as they put it, ‘cut the green crap’ like scrapping investment in vital home insulation measures means every household’s bill in the West is hundreds of pounds higher. That’s a fact. This radical but credible plan of action is exactly what we need to meet the West of England’s very ambitious net zero-by-2030 targets, and save locals hundreds if not thousands on those sky-high bills in the process. It will really complement several projects integral to my West of England Mayoral Combined Authority’s plan to move away from dirty fossil fuels while creating high-quality, future-proof jobs too. Now more than ever, we need a government with a relentless focus on green investment and green jobs.”
GOVERNMENT’S “GREEN CRAP” ATTITUDE COST WEST OF ENGLAND FAMILIES £1,400 A YEAR, AS METRO MAYOR WELCOMES LABOUR PLEDGE TO WORK WITH REGIONAL MAYORS ON CLEAN ENERGY
