Sir Keir Starmer on why £300 energy bill drop will 'take time' as GB Energy boss unveiled

Sir Keir Starmer has warned it will “take time” for energy bills to fall amid questions over how much GB Energy will help the finances of households.

The Prime Minister insisted the UK government was “moving at pace” with the development of the publicly-owned GB Energy company as his energy secretary Ed Miliband could not say when the promised £300-a-year savings will be delivered.

Labour’s uncertainty over the savings and timeframe has sparked criticism from both the SNP and Tories, who questioned whether the UK government had made promises it could not keep. Speaking on Thursday in Runcorn, Cheshire, the Prime Minister hit out at the Conservatives’ record, saying they had left a “rot of short-sightedness and self-service” for Labour to clear up.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer poses for pictures during a visit to Hutchinson Engineering in Widnes, Cheshire. Picture: James Glossop/The Times/PA Wire

He said: “The hard graft of rebuilding this country has well and truly started, and it is vital that we begin immediately because the last government dropped the ball. They left us the worst inheritance since the Second World War, and every day – every day – we’re finding more mess that they’ve left for us to clear up, the rot of short-sightedness and self-service that has weakened the foundations of our country.”

Sir Keir’s speech was aimed at setting out new plans to team up with the Crown Estate, which owns the vast majority of Britain’s seabed, to boost the building of offshore wind farms. It comes as the Tories and SNP cast doubt on a previous Labour pledge to help cut household bills by £300 a year, in part through GB Energy – its flagship green initiative.

The figure was missing from the official announcement of the new plans. Downing Street repeatedly declined to use it when asked by journalists on Thursday morning whether it was committed to the number.

However, asked later during a question-and-answer session whether he stands by the pledge, the Prime Minister said: “Yes, I do – I stand by everything in my manifesto, and one of the things I made clear in the election campaign is because I wouldn’t make a single promise or commitment that I didn’t think we could deliver in government, and that’s why we carefully costed and funded everything in our manifesto.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer during a visit to the Beatrice wind farm off the Caithness coast.

“That does depend on early firm decisions being made, which is why we’ve set up GB Energy, why we’ve announced the partnership today with the Crown Estate, and why the energy secretary has already taken action in week one in relation to onshore wind, in relation to solar energy and also pushing on with nuclear. So I stand by that commitment.

“What this brings us is lower bills, energy security, the next generation of jobs and, of course, an important contribution to our obligations in relation to the planet.”

Sir Keir added: “It will take time for this 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.”

Former Siemens UK boss Juergen Maier has meanwhile been appointed chairman of GB Energy, Sir Keir confirmed.

The Crown Estate has a £16 billion portfolio of land and seabed, and returns its profits to the government, a small portion of which goes to the monarchy.

In a separate Bill, the Crown Estate is set to be given new borrowing powers, confirmed in last week’s King’s Speech, which are designed to help it invest more in preparing its seabeds for offshore wind and other projects.

Speaking to broadcasters earlier on Thursday morning, the energy secretary said GB Energy would start generating returns “within the lifetime of this Parliament”, but would not set a date for when people can expect bills to fall.

Mr Miliband said: “Within a couple of years, as we build new onshore wind, new solar, we’ll start to see the effect on bills, but there are lots of things going on here. So our exposure to gas prices, which are set internationally, is something I don’t control ... I can’t promise you what’s going to happen to gas prices.

“But I can say that, if we drive to clean, home-grown British energy, we will have much more control over what happens to bills.”

SNP net-zero spokesman Dave Doogan said: "Scotland is an energy rich country – and it's a scandal that families are being forced to pay sky-high bills as a result of Westminster failure.

"There is no question the Labour government must lower energy bills this year – and over the coming years. Households need urgent help with the soaring cost of living in the UK. The fact there has been such chaos and confusion in the Labour government over this issue is a worrying sign that there is no clear plan to lower household bills – and the pledge Labour made at the election is in danger of being broken.

"People in Scotland were promised change at Westminster – and they now expect the Labour government to get on and deliver it. Keir Starmer must set out exactly how much families can expect to see their bills lowered this year – and over the next four years.

"The SNP will work with the Labour government to secure the change Scotland was promised – and where real change is not forthcoming, we will hold them to account."

Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho claimed the public had been “sold a lie” by Labour their energy bills would drop by £300. She said GB Energy would involve “funnelling taxpayers’ money into reducing risk for multi-million-pound energy companies” while the 2030 decarbonisation target “will hike bills and ramp up our dependence on batteries and cables from China”.

“Now they’re saying bills may go up … but the truth is even worse,” she said. “Labour’s plans for energy are going to mean huge costs for British families.”