Keir Starmer: I’ll scrap ban on new onshore wind farms 

During a speech in Scotland on Monday, he will tell voters they would save hundreds of pounds on their bills under his vision to make Britain a “clean energy superpower”.

Labour says it plans to lift the de facto ban on new wind farms in England, introduced by the Tories in 2012, within its “first months” in power.

But he will make the address following more accusations of “flip-flopping” after he watered down plans to end new North Sea oil and gas projects.

‘Race of our lifetime’

“We can cut bills, create jobs and provide energy security for Britain – that’s what a Labour government will deliver,” Sir Keir will tell an audience in Scotland.

“We’ve got to roll up our sleeves and start building things, run towards the barriers – the planning system, the skills shortages, the investor confidence, the grid.

“If the status quo isn’t good enough – we must find the reforms that can restart our engine.

“I’m not going to accept a situation where our planning system means it takes 13 years to build an offshore wind farm.”

He will add: “We’re going to throw everything at this: planning reform, procurement, long-term finance, R&D, a strategic plan for skills and supply chains.

“We’ve got to seize the new opportunities. This is the race of our lifetime and the prize is real.”

Labour’s energy plan, set to be published on Monday, will formally commit to reversing the onshore wind ban within its first year in power.

But a source close to Sir Keir said he plans to go much faster and bring legislation to the House of Commons within months, adding: “We are going to push on with it ASAP.”

Sir Keir has vowed to reduce the planning process for putting up new turbines “from years to months” and to double output from onshore wind by 2030.

The decade-long ban has added £182 per year to the typical family’s bills by making Britain more reliant on expensive imported energy, he will claim.

Labour has pledged to create a net zero electricity grid by 2030.

Sir Keir’s speech will come after he was criticised by the Tories and some within his own party for watering down two of his key green energy pledges.

He has softened his vow to end all new North Sea oil and gas projects after it came under fire from the unions for putting thousands of jobs at risk.

The announcement comes after Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, admitted the party’s flagship Green Prosperity Plan is being delayed.

Labour had pledged to spend £28 billion a year on climate-friendly policies but has now said it will not reach that target until it has been in power for at least two and a half years.

Esther McVey, a former Conservative cabinet minister, said on Twitter:

“Mr Flip Flop flips again!

“Sir Keir backtracked on his £28bn/yr borrowing to fulfil his green pledge & he’s now, under pressure from his union colleagues, apparently reversing his pledge to block all new oil & gas developments in the North Sea

“Does he believe in anything at all?”

Sir Keir will also attack the SNP for failing to deliver on its clean energy pledges, saying his plan will ensure there is “British power for British jobs” and bolster the union.

He will announce that GB Energy, a new state-owned energy company which Labour plans to set up, would have its headquarters in Scotland.

Under the proposals, residents of communities that host green energy production such as wind farms will be rewarded with money off their bills.

Councils will also be required to proactively identify areas of land that can be turned over for the generation of renewable electricity.

Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, has confirmed the party will now allow any new oil and gas licences that are approved by the Tories before it takes power to go ahead.

“We cannot shut off oil and gas, and oil and gas will be a significant part of our energy industry for decades to come,” he told Times Radio.

Grant Shapps, the Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary, told The Telegraph: “Time and again Labour have proven they just can’t be trusted with our economy and our energy security.

“By surrendering to Just Stop Oil’s guerrilla tactics, Keir Starmer is admitting that Labour will decimate the economy, put hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk and undermine everything we have done to get bills falling.”

A Conservative Party spokesman added that the proposals would “weaken the UK’s energy security, making us more dependent on Putin”.

Offshore Energies UK, the industry body, has warned Labour’s plan would create 45,000 job losses and lead to a 60 per cent drop in domestic oil and gas production.