Is Great British Energy a great idea? It will be a nice thing to have but don't expect miracles

Great British Energy, Labour's proposed publicly owned energy company, scores well with voters, according to the pollsters, and one can understand why.

- Nils Pratley

The promise to invest in "cheap, clean, homegrown energy, to cut bills for families and rebuild the strength of British industry" ticks every imaginable box. What's not to like?

And, since the privatised utilities are never going to win a popularity contest (especially when the boss of British Gas's owner is being paid £8m), the publicly owned structure of GB Energy is almost a cherry on top. Other countries have state owned firms making good profits in the UK energy market. Now the home side will be on the pitch.

Yet Labour would be wise to temper expectations about what GB Energy can achieve, and when. Keir Starmer's claim this week that the operation will be "taking control of our energy supply to bring down bills" requires several gigawatts-worth of context. Energy is a very large and long-term business and you do not work miracles with £8.3bn, the sum earmarked for GB Energy over the course of the next parliament.