Is Labour bringing public ownership back in fashion?

Keir Starmer and Ed Miliband have unveiled the creation of GB Energy – the publicly owned clean power company that Labour promised in its manifesto, “to cut bills for good and boost energy security”.

- JOHN RENTOUL

The prime minister said the new company reflects “a fundamental belief that we should own and make things in Britain”. And the energy security and net zero secretary said: “Great British Energy comes from a simple idea – that the British people should own and benefit from our natural resources.”

As Louise Haigh, the transport secretary, has already announced plans to renationalise the railways, it seems that the idea of public ownership is back in fashion. Indeed, one government aide has been quoted as saying that GB Energy will “prove the case for 21st-century modern public ownership”.

So what will Labour nationalise?

Actually, not much. GB Energy is not even going to generate any energy. Despite the manifesto saying it will “deliver power back to the British people”, it will essentially be a public investment vehicle. It will “invest in energy projects alongside the private sector, helping get them off the ground”, “lead projects through development stages to speed up their delivery”, and “support local energy generation projects through working with local authorities”.