Keir Starmer U-turns on Labour policy to nationalise energy sector
Sir Keir Starmer has today said a Labour government will not nationalise the country’s energy sector, overturning a key pledge from the last election and a promise he made in the party’s leadership contest.
Starmer also wouldn’t rule out income tax rises, noting that “nothing is off the table”.
The Labour leader said today that he would not be “ideological” about public ownership and that he is only in support if it provides “value for money the the taxpayer and delivers a better public service”.
Nationalisation of rail, mail, energy and water was a headline Jeremy Corbyn policy at the 2019 General Election and is a key pillar of ideological belief for the party’s left-wing faction.
Starmer’s admission will enrage the Corbynite left of the party during this week’s party conference in Brighton, after he said in his leadership election bid that he would commit to “common ownership of rail, mail, energy and water”.
Starmer promised as a part of his leadership bid to not stray too far from socialist Corbyn-era policies, with some on the left claiming that this was a ruse to stack up votes now that he is clearly moderating the party’s position.
When asked by the BBC today if he would nationalise the big six energy companies, Starmer said: “No.
“When it comes to common ownership, I’m pragmatic about this and I don’t agree with the argument that says we must be ideological.
“Where common ownership is value for money for the taxpayer and delivers for the taxpayer there should be common ownership.”
It comes just days after shadow business and energy secretary Ed Miliband said: “We are in favour of common ownership [for energy] absolutely…Keir Starmer said this in the leadership campaign – we haven’t changed that commitment.”
Starmer said this morning that common ownership does not necessarily mean nationalisation.
A spate of challenger energy companies have failed in the past 6 weeks due to surging natural gas prices, fueling fears of a winter gas shortage.
Wholesale natural gas prices have risen by almost 300 per cent this year alone.
A shortage in HGV drivers has also seen people panic buy fuel this week, with long queues seen at petrol stations across the country in the past few days.
“For a long time we’ve known there’s a problem with HGV drivers, that’s been there for years, but we knew in particular that when we exited the EU that there would be a need for back up plan to deal with the situation,” Starmer said.
It comes as shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves told the Sunday Times that she would implement fiscal rules if Labour is elected, which would see the government run a balanced budget for day to day spending.
Deficits could be wracked up under these rules for capital expenditure spending.
She also said she doesn’t “have any plans to increase the rates of income tax”, but Starmer today would not rule it out.